This records is 2 zillions times better and fresher than NLOTH.
NLOTH is my axe to grind. I'm not gonna say the band hit this record out of the park with SOI, but after 3 listens front to back yesterday, I feel good, warm, and fuzzy....they way I should feel when I hear a U2 song. Production, harmonies, melodies, and bridges sound tight and fresh.
What I think I like most.. and obviously why it is called "Sounds of Innocence".... when reading the liner notes, all the songs are connected to early people/events/bands that shaped U2 who they are today. Something about the resonates with me.
I particularly enjoyed Neil McCormick's review.
U2, Songs of Innocence: first review - Telegraph
" I wouldn’t put it on a par with their greatest work - Boy, Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby or even the seamless songs of All That You Can’t Leave Behind. At times it does sound like it is trying a bit too hard to please. But it's more pop than Pop ever was, and it certainly does the job it apparently sets out to do, delivering addictive pop rock with hooks, energy, substance and ideas that linger in the mind after you’ve heard them."
A good U2 record takes a moment to marinate..... like a good steak before a BBQ. Perhaps naysayers will change their mind. I completely changed my mind about Pop. It only took a year. Can't say I've changed my mind about NLOTH or October....many years have passed since then.
Despite the fact that radio is dying.... this is made for masses to consume and for radio play.
I like the throwback to their youth....and it isn't a preachy kinda Bono you hear..... it's a reflective one.
These dudes are old now..... and they are busting out this song like they are super duper young.
Love it.