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The Power of U2
'Atomic Bomb' is a blissful blast of rock 'n' roll artistry
By Cary Darling
Star-Telegram Pop Culture Critic
If your only passing knowledge of the new U2 album is that overplayed iPod TV commercial -- built around a snatch of the first single, Vertigo -- it might seem like a spasm of desperation: aging, rich rock band in their 25th year crank up guitars, hook up with cool technology, maintain street credibility, sell millions.
While all of those things may turn out to be true, they give no indication of the musical truth of the matter, which is that U2's glorious new disc, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is the Irish quartet's least fussy yet most powerful album in a long, celebrated career.
Through much of the '80s, U2 -- led by the dewy-eyed, banner-waving Bono -- seemed to be in search of something. The journey led to some memorable moments, such as the youthful, questing optimism of Boy and the American meditations of The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum. In the '90s, the band -- cut in the classic, guitar-rock mold -- made peace with technology and electronics with Achtung Baby, Pop and Zooropa. While the results were sometimes mixed, they showed the group members were still bristling with restlessness, fearful of letting their feet stand in one place.
With their album All That You Can't Leave Behind in 2000, U2 finally seemed to discover some satisfaction. Kicking off with the celebratory Beautiful Day, the album radiated a relaxed sense of rock 'n' roll grace. As they reach middle age, Bono, guitarist the Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen still may not have found what they're looking for, but what they did find was an easygoing sense of self, freed from the bombast and pomposity that sometimes marred earlier works.
How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb builds on that, taking U2 trademarks -- the Edge's shimmering, cascading guitar, Bono's wail-in-a-windstorm vocals, and optimism in the face of a punishing world -- and turns them into blissful blasts of rock 'n' roll.
Atomic Bomb partially was influenced by the death of Bono's father from cancer in 2001. But even at its most mournful -- the plaintive Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own -- the disc reverberates with the joy of life and affirmation.
The rest of the album dances between the sublime (Miracle Drug, City of Blinding Lights, A Man and a Woman, Yahweh, Crumbs From Your Table, One Step Closer, Original of the Species) and the rockin' (All Because of You, Vertigo, Love and Peace or Else), and does so with a straightforward sense of verve.
The Edge really steps to the front on Atomic Bomb. Perhaps not since Boy have the band so reveled in his guitar's chiming, ethereal grace. It would be for nothing if the songs stumbled to keep up with his instrumental glory, but they are equal to the challenge.
Clocking in at less than 50 minutes, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, unlike so many CDs these days, is not weighed down by any musical fat. It's lean yet lush, simple but not simple-minded, spiritual but not self-important. It's a reminder that keeping things down-to-earth doesn't mean you can't still look to the sky and dance upon the clouds.
U2
• How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
• Interscope
GRADE: A
'Atomic Bomb' is a blissful blast of rock 'n' roll artistry
By Cary Darling
Star-Telegram Pop Culture Critic
If your only passing knowledge of the new U2 album is that overplayed iPod TV commercial -- built around a snatch of the first single, Vertigo -- it might seem like a spasm of desperation: aging, rich rock band in their 25th year crank up guitars, hook up with cool technology, maintain street credibility, sell millions.
While all of those things may turn out to be true, they give no indication of the musical truth of the matter, which is that U2's glorious new disc, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is the Irish quartet's least fussy yet most powerful album in a long, celebrated career.
Through much of the '80s, U2 -- led by the dewy-eyed, banner-waving Bono -- seemed to be in search of something. The journey led to some memorable moments, such as the youthful, questing optimism of Boy and the American meditations of The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum. In the '90s, the band -- cut in the classic, guitar-rock mold -- made peace with technology and electronics with Achtung Baby, Pop and Zooropa. While the results were sometimes mixed, they showed the group members were still bristling with restlessness, fearful of letting their feet stand in one place.
With their album All That You Can't Leave Behind in 2000, U2 finally seemed to discover some satisfaction. Kicking off with the celebratory Beautiful Day, the album radiated a relaxed sense of rock 'n' roll grace. As they reach middle age, Bono, guitarist the Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen still may not have found what they're looking for, but what they did find was an easygoing sense of self, freed from the bombast and pomposity that sometimes marred earlier works.
How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb builds on that, taking U2 trademarks -- the Edge's shimmering, cascading guitar, Bono's wail-in-a-windstorm vocals, and optimism in the face of a punishing world -- and turns them into blissful blasts of rock 'n' roll.
Atomic Bomb partially was influenced by the death of Bono's father from cancer in 2001. But even at its most mournful -- the plaintive Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own -- the disc reverberates with the joy of life and affirmation.
The rest of the album dances between the sublime (Miracle Drug, City of Blinding Lights, A Man and a Woman, Yahweh, Crumbs From Your Table, One Step Closer, Original of the Species) and the rockin' (All Because of You, Vertigo, Love and Peace or Else), and does so with a straightforward sense of verve.
The Edge really steps to the front on Atomic Bomb. Perhaps not since Boy have the band so reveled in his guitar's chiming, ethereal grace. It would be for nothing if the songs stumbled to keep up with his instrumental glory, but they are equal to the challenge.
Clocking in at less than 50 minutes, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, unlike so many CDs these days, is not weighed down by any musical fat. It's lean yet lush, simple but not simple-minded, spiritual but not self-important. It's a reminder that keeping things down-to-earth doesn't mean you can't still look to the sky and dance upon the clouds.
U2
• How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
• Interscope
GRADE: A
