NLOTH Album Reviews Pt 3

MMP · Feb 22, 2009

I'm still expecting Pitchfork's one. Maybe they're giving the album some time before go out and bash it with only one listen. Points for them if that's right.

Celebration · Feb 22, 2009

Where is the Q review? I can't find it online. Could someone post scans or text? Thanks!

Sicy · Feb 22, 2009

nirniva said:
Isn't there a thread for fan reviews?

.:MrMacPhisto:. said:
It was merged.

Sorry... I guess some people want to keep them separate after all. If you want I can start a thread ONLY for professional reviews, if someone wants to gather up some of the links from this thread and send them to me. Then I guess someone can start a fan reviews only thread, even though I dont know how necessary that is, seeing as there are plenty of discussions where members have been posting their album / song opinions already?

AtomicBono · Feb 22, 2009

Irvine511 said:
you've outlined a good reason why taste is so subjective. if you love Pop, more power to you. but it seems that the reason why is more due to you and what you found to love rather than the objective merits of the album, which i think are almost indisputably less than JT, AB, and likely NLOTH.

Yeah I don't think it's a classic like those, but I do think it's better than a lot of people give it credit for, U2 included :wink:

catlhere said:
What "power" of a "grand anthem" does Stuck In A Moment have that Magnificent doesn't?

and Elevation... I mean I love both songs but Magnificent kind of pwns them.

So has anyone totally trashed the album yet, besides that one douche with the Adam drinking game? Sounds like most of the reviews have either been gushing, pretty positive, or good/lukewarm. Then again I guess it was the same for Bomb although I don't think anyone called it a masterpiece up there with JT and AB.

icebergy · Feb 22, 2009

AtomicBono said:
although I don't think anyone called it a masterpiece up there with JT and AB.

actually alot of ppl were saying that early on

MMP · Feb 22, 2009

Sicy said:
Sorry... I guess some people want to keep them separate after all. If you want I can start a thread ONLY for professional reviews, if someone wants to gather up some of the links from this thread and send them to me. Then I guess someone can start a fan reviews only thread, even though I dont know how necessary that is, seeing as there are plenty of discussions where members have been posting their album / song opinions already?

Sicy · Feb 22, 2009

WOW nice work! Thanks!

LemonMelon · Feb 22, 2009

cjboog said:
I thought Q gave it a 5?? Can't find anything on Q's website.

Also, Spin gave it a 3.5/5.

U2FAN4LIFE · Feb 22, 2009

AtomicBono said:
So has anyone totally trashed the album yet, besides that one douche with the Adam drinking game? Sounds like most of the reviews have either been gushing, pretty positive, or good/lukewarm. Then again I guess it was the same for Bomb although I don't think anyone called it a masterpiece up there with JT and AB.

"No light on the horizon" (at the bottom of the list a couple posts up) sounds to me like a trashing... funny that the two Irish Independant reviews are not flattering at all. :down:

AtomicBono · Feb 22, 2009

U2FAN4LIFE said:
"No light on the horizon" (at the bottom of the list a couple posts up) sounds to me like a trashing... funny that the two Irish Independant reviews are not flattering at all.

Yeah I can see that; at least they liked some of it though, and called MOS one of U2's best songs. But if I had to assign a rating to theirs I'd say maybe 2/5?

why did they review it three times :huh:

anyone feel like compiling a list of all ratings? Oh wait that's what Metacritic is for...it's not up there yet though

Earnie Shavers · Feb 22, 2009

AtomicBono said:
What are your thoughts Earnie? I don't remember if I've seen them considering there's approximately 3874835946 posts of people reviewing the album.

I think it’s incredible. Goes without saying that it’s their best since Pop, so much of an improvement over the last two in so many almost immeasurable ways.

I do think it is heartbreakingly close to being right up there with their very best though. Not quite there. I’ve said this already in another thread, or maybe earlier in this one, but on that first listen by even just halfway through No Line I was nearly in tears of happiness, just great to hear U2 ‘back’ in their 80s/90s mindset. The first 4 songs take you on a ride, totally sweep you up when listened to back to back. Then… Crazy Tonight/Boots/Stand Up Comedy. It works on one level, there’s a flow and it’s a way of keeping momentum (and don’t get me wrong, they’re good songs, Crazy Tonight is the one on here that gets stuck in my head forever), but try listening to Fez straight after Unknown Caller and imagine the album continuing on that journey it seems to otherwise be trying to take you on. Remember with another album about pilgrimage supposedly in the can, they have the songs and they would at least fit thematically and likely sonically. There’s a feel and mood about everything else on the album, and you are kinda snapped out of it for those three tracks. It is, purely in my opinion, the only thing holding it back from AB/JT level talk. Perhaps the other songs don’t fit. Too much like White as Snow and Cedars, so creating too much of a drag, but if this album could have just held it together as a sort of complete journey from start to finish, then yeah, AB/JT level for sure. As it is, it is just reigning itself in from that.

But there’s no way I can be unhappy about that, and I’m not. Maybe they had something that great and they reigned it in, but another way of looking at it is that the 00s U2 Monster was beaten down by the Spirit of 80s/90s U2 Past to only 3 tracks, and that says great things about what might be coming next. Especially seeing as you know that by their very nature, the immediate catchy and popular songs like Crazy Tonight will in 6,9,12 months hold far lesser places in peoples hearts than the less immediate but truly moving stuff like MoS, White as Snow etc. They’ll get the message.

And a lot of this album is just… unbelievable.

NLOTH: And a big welcome back to U2, it’s been far too long. They pitch this one perfectly. I was beside myself listening to this. It was like U2 hadn’t existed for a decade and here they were. Like they’d broken up and re-formed or something. The v1/v2 hybrid that you know will open the shows will be kick arse too.

Magnificent: This was the big risk track for me. Off the beach and preview clips I was excited, but still preparing myself for an over the top, bombastic track that totally uses and abuses their older sounds for false highlights, i.e. something very Atomic Bomb II. But somehow, amazingly, they’ve completely successfully merged UF/JT era U2 with AB/Zooropa, all circa ATYCLB. Edge is chiming away up top on soaring notes, but they’re playing off a dark undercurrent via an Achtung guitar below merged with some Eno synths on some moody/angsty chords, all running off a rhythm section, and more shimmering Eno trickery (or is all of this…. will.i.am?) that is totally Lemon/Zooropa. Love it, and on just this weekend giving the album a blast around a couple of different groups of friends, its getting instant massive thumbs up. Not sure though that this will be the big single people think it will be. Quality can get lost in familiarity, and a very U2 song covering very Bono themes might not get it’s fair run. If there were no Boots though, if this were the first single getting the big push everywhere, it could have been huge. But as the 2nd or 3rd single relying only on itself… might not. Also, Bono could have done better with the lyrics. Tough one to work with, not many options for a melody there, especially against that rhythm mixed with the short time, but it is old Mercy/ABOY ground for U2 fans and perhaps a bit abrasive for non-fans to hear Bono declaring that he was born to be with and sing for everyone. But I really fucking love this song. U2 retro-mining done to absolute perfection. And I’m guessing there has never been a more anticipated live debut. We’re all absolutely hanging for this to happen, right?

Moment of Surrender: Getting it’s deserved love from everywhere. By now this album has just absolutely washed all over me. I’m gone. You could crash a 747 into my front yard at this point and I won’t notice. The vocals in the chorus are just absolutely stunning, one of them in particular where they just nail it. This is as good as anything they’ve ever done. Ever. I’m totally lost in this song.

Unknown Caller: Yeah, some of the Mac-lyrics are pretty (very) cringe worthy. Who knows what they’ll be like in 10-15yrs, but again it’s a totally new spin on an old U2 and I’m buying into it. I don’t notice those lyrics unless I’m trying, the song and the mood it creates is far larger than the individual words. The mood isn’t haunting, but it’s something similar to it. There’s an urgency to it, but… it feels like it’s at sunset or something and it’s not that worrying. Does that make sense? More like the reboot/restart yourself feeling is a personal revelation than it is a crisis/mental breakdown.

Crazy Tonight: Uuughh… Great song, catchy, breezy, fun, playful, great lasting pop writing that they have failed on so many times recently. Really, truly love the song, but hate that it snaps me out of it. I’m pulled back, out of the journey. Now I suddenly notice that there’s a burning jet engine in my kitchen.

Boots: Sounded fresh and new as a single, suddenly sounds very Bomb-era on this album.

Stand Up Comedy: Not buying it. Good, clever, catchy, but ultimately I think it’s below their pay grade. Would be an easy highlight on Atomic Bomb, but they’ve opened this album up at such a far, far higher standard.

Fez-Being Born: Total UF-era lyric and delivery from Bono over I don’t know what era from everyone else. I’m right into this one as well. Knowing the intended story, the feeling of the music, even hearing the sound of the crappy bike buzzing though it, for those who have travelled to places like Morocco or the ends of SE Asia or similar, it’s an easy one to buy into either at the story level as intended or in your own mind, just losing your shit in a place like that and striking out on your own, zipping off into the night. Love it.

White as Snow: Gorgeous. Can’t for the life of me understand why it’s copping heat in some reviews.

Breathe: Didn’t blow me away, but didn’t disappoint. I think it just simply landed right on expectations, and they were pretty high so it’s all good. Love the track, but maybe would have mixed it just a little differently. Certainly not the first time I’ve shaken a fist in the general direction of Mr. Lillywhite.

Cedars of Lebanon: My first listen of this album was disjointed. I had a small window between work and going to a dinner at a friends house to download it, get it over to the iPod and have a listen. I got about ¾ of the way through at home, and then had to do the last ¼ on the walk to my friends place. When the first “Return… the call…. to home” came through it just stopped me dead in my tracks. I sat down right there, started the track again with my absolute full attention. Wow.

(I proceeded to get pretty drunk at the dinner – hence the walking – and my second listen from end to end was back at home with the lights off and a nice red-wine buzz. Perfect).

Overall, about 80% of this album is just stunning. Three highlights would be just simply U2 letting themselves go again, letting what they’re feeling take over, and that the resulting feel of those songs is something kind of out of time. Like the film 2046 – it’s set in the future but it feels like it’s an old story, gives it this odd timeless feel. Totally U2, but totally new and unique. Thirdly, in a lot of places a huge welcome back Bono. Yeah, he bottoms out in a bunch of places, is as cringe-worthy as ever in others, but overall he’s back in a big way. The writing stories from other peoples perspectives thing really works for him. The spots where he bottoms out are where he’s reverting to his 00s themes. When he jumps back onto the No Line mindset, he’s fucking brilliant.

They’re not just creating a mood or emotion for you as they have been recently, sort of sketchy songs you can draft into your own life, but they’re creating places again. A lot of these songs – Moment of Surrender, Cedars, Fez, White as Snow, Unknown Caller – are really putting you somewhere very specific, but totally dreamy and moveable at the same time. It’s been a long time since a U2 song has totally engaged my imagination as well as emotion.

So yeah, so, so heartbreakingly close. I suspect a merge of this + this pilgrimage album, if it really exists, will give you their very best effort ever. It will be really disappointing if it’s obvious that they chopped up a great album to give us two very, very, very good ones. But overall, I’m just wrapped in this thing. It’s right up there, and a very welcome and overdue return.

kurtnils · Feb 27, 2009

Earnie Shavers said:
I think it’s incredible. Goes without saying that it’s their best since Pop, so much of an improvement over the last two in so many almost immeasurable ways.

I do think it is heartbreakingly close to being right up there with their very best though. Not quite there. I’ve said this already in another thread, or maybe earlier in this one, but on that first listen by even just halfway through No Line I was nearly in tears of happiness, just great to hear U2 ‘back’ in their 80s/90s mindset. The first 4 songs take you on a ride, totally sweep you up when listened to back to back. Then… Crazy Tonight/Boots/Stand Up Comedy. It works on one level, there’s a flow and it’s a way of keeping momentum (and don’t get me wrong, they’re good songs, Crazy Tonight is the one on here that gets stuck in my head forever), but try listening to Fez straight after Unknown Caller and imagine the album continuing on that journey it seems to otherwise be trying to take you on. Remember with another album about pilgrimage supposedly in the can, they have the songs and they would at least fit thematically and likely sonically. There’s a feel and mood about everything else on the album, and you are kinda snapped out of it for those three tracks. It is, purely in my opinion, the only thing holding it back from AB/JT level talk. Perhaps the other songs don’t fit. Too much like White as Snow and Cedars, so creating too much of a drag, but if this album could have just held it together as a sort of complete journey from start to finish, then yeah, AB/JT level for sure. As it is, it is just reigning itself in from that.

But there’s no way I can be unhappy about that, and I’m not. Maybe they had something that great and they reigned it in, but another way of looking at it is that the 00s U2 Monster was beaten down by the Spirit of 80s/90s U2 Past to only 3 tracks, and that says great things about what might be coming next. Especially seeing as you know that by their very nature, the immediate catchy and popular songs like Crazy Tonight will in 6,9,12 months hold far lesser places in peoples hearts than the less immediate but truly moving stuff like MoS, White as Snow etc. They’ll get the message.

And a lot of this album is just… unbelievable.

NLOTH: And a big welcome back to U2, it’s been far too long. They pitch this one perfectly. I was beside myself listening to this. It was like U2 hadn’t existed for a decade and here they were. Like they’d broken up and re-formed or something. The v1/v2 hybrid that you know will open the shows will be kick arse too.

Magnificent: This was the big risk track for me. Off the beach and preview clips I was excited, but still preparing myself for an over the top, bombastic track that totally uses and abuses their older sounds for false highlights, i.e. something very Atomic Bomb II. But somehow, amazingly, they’ve completely successfully merged UF/JT era U2 with AB/Zooropa, all circa ATYCLB. Edge is chiming away up top on soaring notes, but they’re playing off a dark undercurrent via an Achtung guitar below merged with some Eno synths on some moody/angsty chords, all running off a rhythm section, and more shimmering Eno trickery (or is all of this…. will.i.am?) that is totally Lemon/Zooropa. Love it, and on just this weekend giving the album a blast around a couple of different groups of friends, its getting instant massive thumbs up. Not sure though that this will be the big single people think it will be. Quality can get lost in familiarity, and a very U2 song covering very Bono themes might not get it’s fair run. If there were no Boots though, if this were the first single getting the big push everywhere, it could have been huge. But as the 2nd or 3rd single relying only on itself… might not. Also, Bono could have done better with the lyrics. Tough one to work with, not many options for a melody there, especially against that rhythm mixed with the short time, but it is old Mercy/ABOY ground for U2 fans and perhaps a bit abrasive for non-fans to hear Bono declaring that he was born to be with and sing for everyone. But I really fucking love this song. U2 retro-mining done to absolute perfection. And I’m guessing there has never been a more anticipated live debut. We’re all absolutely hanging for this to happen, right?

Moment of Surrender: Getting it’s deserved love from everywhere. By now this album has just absolutely washed all over me. I’m gone. You could crash a 747 into my front yard at this point and I won’t notice. The vocals in the chorus are just absolutely stunning, one of them in particular where they just nail it. This is as good as anything they’ve ever done. Ever. I’m totally lost in this song.

Unknown Caller: Yeah, some of the Mac-lyrics are pretty (very) cringe worthy. Who knows what they’ll be like in 10-15yrs, but again it’s a totally new spin on an old U2 and I’m buying into it. I don’t notice those lyrics unless I’m trying, the song and the mood it creates is far larger than the individual words. The mood isn’t haunting, but it’s something similar to it. There’s an urgency to it, but… it feels like it’s at sunset or something and it’s not that worrying. Does that make sense? More like the reboot/restart yourself feeling is a personal revelation than it is a crisis/mental breakdown.

Crazy Tonight: Uuughh… Great song, catchy, breezy, fun, playful, great lasting pop writing that they have failed on so many times recently. Really, truly love the song, but hate that it snaps me out of it. I’m pulled back, out of the journey. Now I suddenly notice that there’s a burning jet engine in my kitchen.

Boots: Sounded fresh and new as a single, suddenly sounds very Bomb-era on this album.

Stand Up Comedy: Not buying it. Good, clever, catchy, but ultimately I think it’s below their pay grade. Would be an easy highlight on Atomic Bomb, but they’ve opened this album up at such a far, far higher standard.

Fez-Being Born: Total UF-era lyric and delivery from Bono over I don’t know what era from everyone else. I’m right into this one as well. Knowing the intended story, the feeling of the music, even hearing the sound of the crappy bike buzzing though it, for those who have travelled to places like Morocco or the ends of SE Asia or similar, it’s an easy one to buy into either at the story level as intended or in your own mind, just losing your shit in a place like that and striking out on your own, zipping off into the night. Love it.

White as Snow: Gorgeous. Can’t for the life of me understand why it’s copping heat in some reviews.

Breathe: Didn’t blow me away, but didn’t disappoint. I think it just simply landed right on expectations, and they were pretty high so it’s all good. Love the track, but maybe would have mixed it just a little differently. Certainly not the first time I’ve shaken a fist in the general direction of Mr. Lillywhite.

Cedars of Lebanon: My first listen of this album was disjointed. I had a small window between work and going to a dinner at a friends house to download it, get it over to the iPod and have a listen. I got about ¾ of the way through at home, and then had to do the last ¼ on the walk to my friends place. When the first “Return… the call…. to home” came through it just stopped me dead in my tracks. I sat down right there, started the track again with my absolute full attention. Wow.

(I proceeded to get pretty drunk at the dinner – hence the walking – and my second listen from end to end was back at home with the lights off and a nice red-wine buzz. Perfect).

Overall, about 80% of this album is just stunning. Three highlights would be just simply U2 letting themselves go again, letting what they’re feeling take over, and that the resulting feel of those songs is something kind of out of time. Like the film 2046 – it’s set in the future but it feels like it’s an old story, gives it this odd timeless feel. Totally U2, but totally new and unique. Thirdly, in a lot of places a huge welcome back Bono. Yeah, he bottoms out in a bunch of places, is as cringe-worthy as ever in others, but overall he’s back in a big way. The writing stories from other peoples perspectives thing really works for him. The spots where he bottoms out are where he’s reverting to his 00s themes. When he jumps back onto the No Line mindset, he’s fucking brilliant.

They’re not just creating a mood or emotion for you as they have been recently, sort of sketchy songs you can draft into your own life, but they’re creating places again. A lot of these songs – Moment of Surrender, Cedars, Fez, White as Snow, Unknown Caller – are really putting you somewhere very specific, but totally dreamy and moveable at the same time. It’s been a long time since a U2 song has totally engaged my imagination as well as emotion.

So yeah, so, so heartbreakingly close. I suspect a merge of this + this pilgrimage album, if it really exists, will give you their very best effort ever. It will be really disappointing if it’s obvious that they chopped up a great album to give us two very, very, very good ones. But overall, I’m just wrapped in this thing. It’s right up there, and a very welcome and overdue return.

Less words: it's so simple: Look at the polls-- AB/JT/ATYCLB?POP..... Not one college kids gonna buy into this album. no new listeners and fans.. those other albums captured newbies here... it's tired...

last unicorn · Feb 27, 2009

kurtnils said:
Less words: it's so simple: Look at the polls-- AB/JT/ATYCLB?POP..... Not one college kids gonna buy into this album. no new listeners and fans.. those other albums captured newbies here... it's tired...

What's your problem, dude? Or do you just want to troll each thread about the new album? :eyebrow:

AtomicBono · Feb 27, 2009

kurtnils said:
Less words: it's so simple: Look at the polls-- AB/JT/ATYCLB?POP..... Not one college kids gonna buy into this album. no new listeners and fans.. those other albums captured newbies here... it's tired...

did you really just bump this thread to say that...? :scratch:

you could have said that virtually anywhere..

Earnie Shavers said:
When the first “Return… the call…. to home” came through it just stopped me dead in my tracks. I sat down right there, started the track again with my absolute full attention. Wow.

Yes. Absolute best part of the album for me. Upon first listen Cedars was the only track I knew I loved.

Glad I got to read your comments, they're even more thorough than the 5 star review thread :up:

Nice comparison to 2046 too.

RPRB · Feb 27, 2009

Earnie Shavers said:
Unknown Caller: Yeah, some of the Mac-lyrics are pretty (very) cringe worthy. Who knows what they’ll be like in 10-15yrs, but again it’s a totally new spin on an old U2 and I’m buying into it. I don’t notice those lyrics unless I’m trying, the song and the mood it creates is far larger than the individual words. The mood isn’t haunting, but it’s something similar to it. There’s an urgency to it, but… it feels like it’s at sunset or something and it’s not that worrying. Does that make sense? More like the reboot/restart yourself feeling is a personal revelation than it is a crisis/mental breakdown.

Great description. There is a sense of urgency throughout the song that really puts you on the edge (no pun intended) of your seat. It always feels like the song is going to take you somewhere else but when it doesn't it is somehow perfect. Only U2 can make me this emotionally envolved in a song. For me this caps off the first 4 songs in a fantastic way. All the more reason that it is kind of a let down when the album suddenly goes in a different direction.

AB does have WGRYWH but it still seems to keep the feeling of the album much better than Crazy and certainly Boots and SUC. AB may never be topped but NLOTH certainly comes the closest of anything they have done since.

TheEdge1987 · Feb 27, 2009

Anybody got the latest hotpress material?

bcrt2000 · Feb 27, 2009

Did the Blender review come out? Bono said it was 5 stars during one of the interviews today.

Bono also jokes about how its hard for reviewers to let go about the fact that hes so annoying :lol:

cjboog · Feb 27, 2009

.:MrMacPhisto:. said:
I'm still expecting Pitchfork's one. Maybe they're giving the album some time before go out and bash it with only one listen. Points for them if that's right.

I have a feeling Pitchfork is going to give them a good review.

I remember reading an article on Pitchfork about the album and they were saying things like, "We get the feeling that U2 is actually trying with their new album. When you are the biggest band in the world, just trying counts for something." Or something like that. They also also said when they had the article about GOYB that "It's not that bad." I think they may just be nice to U2, they've given some old U2 albums great reviews.

NLOTH Album Reviews Pt 3

MMP

Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS

Celebration

The Fly

Sicy

Sizzlin' Sicilian

AtomicBono

ONE love, blood, life

icebergy

The Fly

MMP

Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS

Sicy

Sizzlin' Sicilian

LemonMelon

More 5G Than Man

U2FAN4LIFE

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AtomicBono

ONE love, blood, life

Earnie Shavers

Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS

kurtnils

The Fly

last unicorn

Blue Crack Addict

AtomicBono

ONE love, blood, life

RPRB

The Fly

TheEdge1987

Acrobat

bcrt2000

Refugee

cjboog

Refugee

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