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U2
“How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb”
Interscope Records
If you’re a U2 fan, “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” is just what you’ve been waiting for: melodically driven, soulful songs about the search for meaning in life. Since I am a self-proclaimed U2 nut, let me put my objective shoes on.
Despite the hotly debated topic of Bono’s Spanish aptitude in counting in on their first single, “Vertigo” – “Uno, dos, tres, catorce [1, 2, 3, 14]” – the song is a bit too pop for my taste. Chances are good, however, that your ears have been bleeding ever since this song has been overexposed in Apple’s iPod commercials. But let’s get to the meat of this album.
The next two tracks, “Miracle Drug” and “Sometimes You Can’t Make it on Your Own,” are quite possibly the best on the album. Both songs move back and forth between strong melodies and intricate guitar work. The bridges in both songs, however, come out of nowhere – as Edge, U2′s guitarist, is using his slide a bit too much throughout.
As is the case with the rest of the album, Bono draws heavily on the personal experience of losing his father to cancer in 2001 for “Sometimes You Can’t.” Lyrically, it is more a late-night conversation with his father than VH1 material.
Originally an idea from past studio sessions, “Love and Peace or Else” follows as a throwback to their experimental beats and guitar work with “Pop” and “Zooropa.” While those albums were dubbed commercial failures, this song just doesn’t have the same tone and feeling that the rest of the album embodies. It can be considered a blemish on an otherwise well-crafted album.
Moving back into their current process in song writing – strong guitar work, lots of keyboards and reverbed vocals – “City of Blinding Lights” and “All Because of You” seem to incorporate everything that made U2 great in the ’80s: The music speaks for itself. Without a doubt, “All Because of You” is some of the finest guitar work Edge has done in the past two or three albums. It’s foot-tappin’ good but may suffer from overproduction. What big band doesn’t nowadays, though?
“A Man and a Woman” pulls this album down in the middle of its greatest hights. The use of acoustic guitar tones and weak melodies just doesn’t seem to make the song that interesting. Like other weak tracks on the album, this one just felt like a B-side waiting to appear on a future compilation or soundtrack. Similarly, “Crumbs From Your Table” takes some listening to before there’s any connection with the song. It’s good, but again, it’s not playlist worthy in your iTunes.
Never one to disappoint, U2 strikes back after a loss of progress as the album begins to wind down. As I have dubbed it, the hat trick – “One Step Closer,” “Original of the Species” and “Yahweh” – closes U2′s album with a killer mood. These songs, at their height, are the philosophic and unapologetically personal. A great example of this is their closer, “Yahweh” – something more akin to a prayer than a rock song. Whether or not you’ll buy into the idea that a band that could use money as toilet paper actually cares about these kind of ideas is a question only you can answer by buying the album.
No longer shrouded in the commercial failures of their experimental days, U2 is riding the wave of great music-making that has brought them back from the dead. In an interview with “Spin” magazine, Bono said that his lyrics are not reflective of his thoughts, but “just feelings.” It’s easy to feel the music on this album, more so than on their past efforts. At this rate, it’s easy to understand why U2 could be considered by some the best rock band that’s still around.
-Marshall Dury
Bangor Daily News