Hmm, well i can certainly see a great attempt at something new in NLOTH, but i don't think it was truly realised, or as big a change as it could have been.
But to be fair, when we heard the comments about it being the next 'achtung baby', it probably was more experimental at that stage.
AB is often considered this dramatic departure, but AB certainly had more than its share of JT and R&H moments. Is it little wonder why AB finally started pulling together with the song, "One"? That's the AB song that arguably sounds the most like JT and R&H. Take away the unusual intro to "Wild Horses" and there's another JT/R&H song (and the "Temple Bar" remix of "Horses" does just that). Some AB songs are dark, such as "Love Is Blindness", "Acrobat" and "So Cruel", but that flows with R&H. In fact, I can see all three of those songs on R&H or the end of JT. Furthermore, "Trying to Throw Your Arms" syncs with "Trip Through Your Wires" - a very different, free-flowing, even noisy, type of song.
While AB did give us new sounds with "Zoo Station", "Even Better Than" and "The Fly", I would contend that "Mysterious Ways" is just a great pop-rock song (like "Pride" and "Desire") and "UltraViolet" is a tad similar to "In God's Country" with Edge's echo effect in high gear. AB stood out as such a departure in part because that's how U2 presented it. Their images were dramatically different, especially Bono's, and their stage presentation was like nothing they had done before.
What also made AB stand out is that the songs appeared to be sharper and more well-honed than on R&H. While one theme tended to dominate AB (relationships or the break-up of them), the sounds were far more diverse. JT also had one dominant theme (the Americas, especially the U.S.), but many of the songs blended into each other.
NLOTH is similar to AB in that we have new or fresher sounds that we haven't heard for U2 in a while or ever. These are best exemplified by the title track, "Moment of Surrender" and "Breathe". Some of the slower songs, such as "White As Snow" and "Cedars of Lebanon" are reminiscent of U2's two most experimental albums - namely TUF and OS1. And this diversity in sounds is also refreshing for U2. Many tracks on ATYCLB tended to flow into each other, similar to JT. It's little wonder ATYCLB is sometimes compared to JT and loved so much by JT fans.
NLOTH does have connection to past albums, such as "Crazy Tonight", "Magnificent" and "Boots", but that's hardly unusual. In fact, it may even be expected. Some songs on TUF could have been on "War". And, as I stated above, some songs on AB could have been on JT or R&H. This is because the group still has the same four members dominating the writing. Eno, Lanois and Lillywhite may push U2 in various directions, but they too have their inherent styles. It is inevitable that there will be some connection to the past, no matter how hard U2 tries to sound different.
It's sad that NLOTH will not be remembered as the great album it is. In some ways, it seems to be a bit like TUF. It takes some digging to first find this album and then look beyond the smaller hit song ("Pride" was not a big hit at the time it was released) to really appreciate the album. However, TUF did help set up JT. This is not to imply U2's next album will be like JT or have the success of JT. However, the innovations on NLOTH may indeed help inspire the works on the next album. But do not be surprised if you see some nods to U2's past.