U2 -- How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
6/10
U2, riding a wave of goodwill from 2000's All that You Can't Leave Behind, return for 2004's noble, semi-misfire, How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. Bono raised eyebrows about the album with a promotional DVD quote that stated, "(How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb is)...our first rock album. It's taken us twenty years or whatever it is, but this is our first rock album." It's like he forgot his band released War in 1983.
One thing is apparent, though. Apparently, the band have been
listening to a lot of White Stripes, and the sort of proto-rock fad that
happened in the early 00's (think "wow, I can't even remember a single one of
their songs" acts like The Strokes or The Hives (I'm sorry for the meanness,
which isn't exactly directed toward those bands, but more to the aging white
male boomer dominated music press at the time who fawned over them simply
because of what they meant as a symbol (that symbol being that their generation
could claim dominance over the current music scene because said scene owed a
debt to the music their generation created) (or appropriated)(how many more
parentheticals can I fit here?)), as Edge seems to have modeled his newly fuzzy
guitar tone and several riffs directly from that scene. Opening track, and lead
single, "Vertigo," immediately showcases these elements...and it's sort of... annoying?
Yes, confession, I've never been a fan of "Vertigo." I think the renaissance Bono's vocals underwent during this period, showcased with the "I can feeeeeeeeeellll!!!" at the end of "Vertigo"'s choruses is stunning, and I like the final lyrics, but overall, I find the song kind of abrasively cloying. I actually dig the next track, "Miracle Drug," mainly because Edge unleashes a classic Edge solo in the bridge, and I like how Bono sings "In science and in medicine/I was a stranger, you let me in." Bono is as religious as he's been on any album here, and as a religious person, I am 100% here for it. I just wish I liked the overall album more.
I like "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," a moving and difficult ballad to Bono's recently deceased father. "Love and Peace or Else" goes back to White Stripes territory to the point where drummer, Larry Mullen, Jr., almost sounds like Meg White. The song isn't bad, nor is it hugely memorable. We then get "City of Blinding Lights," a soaring song that's nice, but can't help but feel like a lesser, more broad version of "Where the Streets Have No Name." It's then back to the Detroit rock worship of "All Because of You," which again, is fine, but is missing that old U2 complexity, atmosphere, and mood. The depth just isn't there, no matter how much they try to dig with their jangly new shovel, though again, there's a killer lyric, "I just arrived/I'm at the door/ of the place I started out from/and I want back inside." "A Man and a Woman" changes things up, as the band go Latin-tinged romantic ballad, and again, it's fine, but I don't love it. Next is perhaps the album's most insufferable track, "Crumbs from Your Table." The thing is, young, earnest Irish lad Bono can sing convincingly to the Western World that it needs to care for the weak and needy, but from mid-40's, filthy rich Bono, whose net worth is reported to be 3/4 of a billion dollars, it's a bit much.
Yes, confession, I've never been a fan of "Vertigo." I think the renaissance Bono's vocals underwent during this period, showcased with the "I can feeeeeeeeeellll!!!" at the end of "Vertigo"'s choruses is stunning, and I like the final lyrics, but overall, I find the song kind of abrasively cloying. I actually dig the next track, "Miracle Drug," mainly because Edge unleashes a classic Edge solo in the bridge, and I like how Bono sings "In science and in medicine/I was a stranger, you let me in." Bono is as religious as he's been on any album here, and as a religious person, I am 100% here for it. I just wish I liked the overall album more.
I like "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," a moving and difficult ballad to Bono's recently deceased father. "Love and Peace or Else" goes back to White Stripes territory to the point where drummer, Larry Mullen, Jr., almost sounds like Meg White. The song isn't bad, nor is it hugely memorable. We then get "City of Blinding Lights," a soaring song that's nice, but can't help but feel like a lesser, more broad version of "Where the Streets Have No Name." It's then back to the Detroit rock worship of "All Because of You," which again, is fine, but is missing that old U2 complexity, atmosphere, and mood. The depth just isn't there, no matter how much they try to dig with their jangly new shovel, though again, there's a killer lyric, "I just arrived/I'm at the door/ of the place I started out from/and I want back inside." "A Man and a Woman" changes things up, as the band go Latin-tinged romantic ballad, and again, it's fine, but I don't love it. Next is perhaps the album's most insufferable track, "Crumbs from Your Table." The thing is, young, earnest Irish lad Bono can sing convincingly to the Western World that it needs to care for the weak and needy, but from mid-40's, filthy rich Bono, whose net worth is reported to be 3/4 of a billion dollars, it's a bit much.
"One Step Closer" is a
second ballad about Bono's father's death, and while not as soaring and
cathartic as "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," it's still a beautiful
and powerful song. Next comes the album's nadir, "Original of the Species,"
which features a sort of Motown-lite sound, and though it's supposed to be a song
of encouragement written to one of the band members' daughters, it sounds like a
song written about how Bono wants to have sex with one of the band members'
daughters. Hey, I've praised the shit out of this band, I've got to take them
down a peg when I think they're stinking up the place.
Thankfully, the album then ends on a very strong note, with the moving "Yahweh," featuring some of Bono's most powerful religious searching, and a distinctly natural U2 sound--like they're just being themselves, and not trying to be hip and cool youngsters. Overall, just writing this review has caused me to drop my score for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb from a 7/10 to a 6/10. The majority of this album is just really forgettable, and the parts that aren't are nearly offset by the moments that are purely annoying. This unfortunately begins the strain of aging U2 trying to stay relevant to the kids instead of trying to be the best version of their unique selves they can be. You could argue this started with Pop, and there are notes of it there, but this is the first time their searching truly feels like it's for "what could sell (i.e., what are the kids into these days)" instead of "what can U2 do well?" Or maybe I just really hate this iPod commercial.
P.S.: There is no P.S. for this review because I don't want to talk about this album anymore.
1. Vertigo 3:14
Thankfully, the album then ends on a very strong note, with the moving "Yahweh," featuring some of Bono's most powerful religious searching, and a distinctly natural U2 sound--like they're just being themselves, and not trying to be hip and cool youngsters. Overall, just writing this review has caused me to drop my score for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb from a 7/10 to a 6/10. The majority of this album is just really forgettable, and the parts that aren't are nearly offset by the moments that are purely annoying. This unfortunately begins the strain of aging U2 trying to stay relevant to the kids instead of trying to be the best version of their unique selves they can be. You could argue this started with Pop, and there are notes of it there, but this is the first time their searching truly feels like it's for "what could sell (i.e., what are the kids into these days)" instead of "what can U2 do well?" Or maybe I just really hate this iPod commercial.
P.S.: There is no P.S. for this review because I don't want to talk about this album anymore.
1. Vertigo 3:14
2. Miracle Drug 3:59
3. Sometimes You
Can't M 4:50
5. City of Blinding Lights 5:47
6. All Because of You 3:39
7. A Man and a Woman 4:30
8. Crumbs from Your Table 5:03
9. One Step Closer 3:51
10. Original of the
Species 4:41
11. Yahweh 4:21
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