U2
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
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U2
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
Island, 2004
RiYL: old U2 unquestioningly, INXS, Midnight Oil |
The hit songs are top-heavy: sure, the Edge's laser-sharp riffs make the whole thing go, but what's really memorable about a U2 song is the part where Bono belts way up in the high register. Those moments ensure that "Bad," "With Or Without You," "One," and "Walk On," to name a few, will never get dull or lose their radio appeal. But as the band settles into middle age, it has become clear that Bono can't hit the high notes anymore. His vocal peaks were still there on All That You Can't Leave Behind, presumably thanks to a precise combination of humidifiers, dehumidifiers, carefully-timed recording sessions, and hot herbal tea.
But on the group's last couple of tours, his throat rubbed raw from night after night of hits, Bono has eschewed the high notes, transposing down an octave or even letting the Edge gamely fill in the blanks. That sorry trend continues on How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, seemingly undisturbed by the studio magic that should be the last bulwark against its inexorable advance.
No, U2 isn't top-heavy here. There aren't any high notes and there aren't any great songs. They've slid off the peak and have settled into a solid and comfortably well-padded middle range. That's not to say it's a bad album; it's got a half-dozen good tracks, and does an especially nice job with its ballads. But U2 has set a high standard for itself, and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb doesn't have much of an argument for entry into the U2 pantheon of great records.
It is also another nail in the coffin for the flirtation with sarcastic electronica that dominated Zooropa and Pop in the mid-'90s. All That You Can't Leave Behind was an overt return to the more straightforward sound that had won U2 the world, and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb continues in that vein: all clear notes, ringing guitars, and earnest pleas to make the world a better place.
The album's opener, "Vertigo," is its best and only attempt at a real rocker, and a moderately successful one. It has a catchy refrain and some excellent bass thumping, but the lyrics are a little too campy to ignore. It starts with a count of one-two-three-fourteen in Spanish and talks about going to some place called "Vertigo" ("It's everything I wish I didn't know"), all of which seems just a little too affected and vaguely silly. A better choice for a first single might have been the bluesy "Love And Peace Or Else," with its driving beat and loud, fuzzy guitars straight out of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus."
Everything else on Bomb is either adult contemporary soft rock or a ballad, though some of it is certainly worth a listen. "One Step Closer," in particular, is a keeper. It's the most stripped-down song on the album, a soft, short hymn whose repeated phrase ("one step closer to knowing") carries a bit more emotional weight than the album's other recurring cliches.
"Original Of The Species" also delivers an emotional punch, and contains Bono's least timid forays into the upper registers of his youth. The two tracks are worthy successors to the now decades-old "Running To Stand Still" and "So Cruel," respectively (if not quite as inextricably linked to my own decades-old adolescent angst).
Sadly, these highlights are interspersed with stunning snoozers like "Miracle Drugs" and "A Man And A Woman," songs that are neither catchy nor innovative nor even foot-stomp. This is an album perfect for the age of the MP3 playlist, and I suspect most listeners will want to pick and choose which tracks they put into heavy rotation. None of them will shoot to the top of the pile, but a few should settle nicely into the upper-middle reaches.
JEFF GRAY | Jeff Gray used to be an important mover and shaker in Chicago, but gave all that up to live on a beach in rural Hawaii. You'll notice him if you're there, he's the one who's very tall and a little bit sunburned. His musical tastes tend towards the mainstream -- Phish, Radiohead, The Strokes -- but he'll argue to the death that those bands are mainstream because they're 100% awesome. Jeff's always on the lookout for the next great pop song, tidbits about Michigan football, and 80's action movies on cable.