The first record made them a band. This one made them unavoidable. No Need to Argue is the second Cranberries album, and you can hear the confidence that comes from already having something to lose.

The debut had been all yearning, guitars that shimmered more than they hit. This album lets them hit. There is more anger here, more weight, more willingness to be ugly when ugliness is the honest choice, and the band sounds like it learned that lesson all at once rather than slowly. O’Riordan is the reason. She had grown sure of what she wanted to say and exactly how loud to say it.

It is the album that took them past the people who liked them and out to the people who had no idea they were ready to be moved this hard. Most of that reach traces back to one track.