The Cranberries' "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?" (1993)

This is a great album.

And now the hard part: why is the debut album of Irish band, The Cranberries, so great? 

There are a lot of elements on this album that reminded me of the album I listened to last week, Cocteau Twins' "Heaven or Las Vegas" (1990) . Each of the bands expertly layer velvety vocals on top of smooth, light guitars and bass - the end result being really relaxing, melodic music. However, the vocals of Cranberries' lead Dolores O'Riordan are coherent, carrying lyrics of anger, happiness, dreams, disappointment, and defiance. The Cranberries' brought substance that I felt was lacking from Cocteau Twins, and managed to sound just as beautiful. One band painted with vivid, bright colors, but few contrasts or focal points;  the other painted with colorful highlights, and used darker colors as shadows to give us something to focus on, think about. 

This is a great album, because it delivers substance and the right balance of black and white.