jlr29's Full Review: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb by U2
Prior to the release of this album, Bono claimed that The Edge was playing some truly awesome guitar. Sick of seeing his frontman meeting with “dodgy politicians,” the U2 guitarist was supposedly channeling his political frustration into making great music. But instead of the angry, political album we expected, we are given “How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb,” which Bono admits is largely a personal album, and which is upbeat and optimistic rather than angry.
That was not the only broken Bono promise regarding the new U2 record. At one point he touted the album as the band’s first ever “rock-and-roll” record. That assertion turned out to be laughable; “HTDAAB” is full of cheery-sounding mid-tempo tunes and overdramatic ballads. Worst of all, what U2’s boastful spokesman had hyped to be one of the band’s best offerings yet turned out to be their weakest release since “Zooropa.”
Perhaps the most disappointing element about the new album is the lyrics. Could these songs really have been written by the same person who penned “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “With or Without You”? I mean, here he attempts to rhyme “choice” with “tortoise”! Several of the songs on this album are self-consciously intended to be moving, but the lyrics simply aren’t unless one knows the backstory behind them. Bono’s words on songs such as “One” were so universal that you didn’t need to know what the song was specifically about to relate to it emotionally. His greatest songs have had multiple potential applications – they could refer to a lover, a friend, or a deity. But that just isn’t the case on this new collection. It’s pretty clear that “It’s you when I look in the mirror” can only apply to his late father, which means that listeners will generally only be able to relate it to their own dads (and, for that manner, only those who have a similar relationship with their fathers to the one Bono discusses in the song will be able to truly apply “Sometimes You Can’t Make it on Your Own” to their own lives).
Now for my petty complaints about the lyrics to “The Original of the Species” (which is dedicated to Bono’s goddaughter, as I understand it [once again, it helps to know the backstory]). How can someone really be “the first of their kind” and “feel like no one has before.” We humans are all unique, but we all share the same set of emotions. And biologically speaking, for this girl to be the original of her species she could not be an actual human being. Perhaps Bono has befriended some kind of mutant or extraterrestrial.
The music is also a disappointment. Maybe Bono has been right to reign in The Edge’s use of his signature chiming guitar sound on the past few albums. After all, when The Edge brought in his ringing tones at the very end of “Beautiful Day” it was a truly euphoric moment. Compare that with the dull and repetitive chiming notes that anchor “One Step Closer” – the magic is definitely absent in this latter case. In fact, the best songs on “HTDAAB” are the ones that don’t sound like “Unforgettable Fire” B-sides and instead explore musical territory that is relatively new to U2.
“Vertigo,” U2’s successful attempt at garage rock, is one of these. It has some dumb lyrics, but that befits the genre, and it does manage to effectively convey a mood of confused exhilaration. Bono must have been referring to “Love and Peace or Else” when he emphasized Edge’s angry guitar-playing; this raucous, noisy tune is a worthy successor to “Bullet the Blue Sky” (though I do have a few qualms with the lyrics, to be discussed later). The R&B-flavored “A Man and a Woman” merits praise for its heavenly bridge and a soulful ending that features Bono’s falsetto against an acoustic guitar backdrop. The best of the “chimy” tunes is “City of Blinding Lights.” Its soaring chorus will likely make it a hit single in the near future.
At the core of the new album’s failure is its message. It’s no secret that U2’s philosophy is largely based in a liberal, anti-dogmatic interpretation of Christianity. Indeed, this religious influence has attracted and inspired many fans, myself included. On “Crumbs From Your Table,” one of the better tracks on “HTDAAB,” Bono rightfully calls out America’s Religious Right for failing to make a sufficient commitment to fighting third-world poverty and protecting worldwide human rights. However, to often on this record Bono’s humanitarian faith slips into naïve optimism. On “Miracle Drug,” Bono exalts medical and scientific advances: “Of science and the human heart there is no limit…Love and logic keep us clear, Reason is on our side.” He seems convinced that problems like extreme poverty and AIDS can be quickly solved if we simply muster the will to do so. Personally, I’m far more skeptical. I’m not anti-science, but I would not put blind faith in it. It was technological progress that gave us a nuclear arsenal capable of destroying the world twenty times over, let’s remember.
The solution U2 presents for global bloodshed on “Love and Peace or Else” is a bland, oversimplistic pacifism: “Lay down your guns…We need love and peace…Baby don’t fight, we can talk this thing through.” The prayer of “Yahweh” ends with the plea “Take this heart and make it break.” I don’t understand what this means, or why someone would want God to break their heart. I found “Grace” from “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” to be far more spiritually uplifting.
On “Yahweh,” Bono asks “Why the dark before the dawn?” In a way I envy his confidence that the world is destined to soon become a better place. But I can’t see what he sees when I look at the world. What’s more, I can’t feel the emotive honesty and soulfulness present on most U2 albums on the new release. I can’t help but feel that the album has more bluster than substance. It’s almost insulting to my favorite band to have to mention this, but I will: the new material is still a cut above what most rock bands are offering today. Obviously, that’s not saying much. I believe U2 is still a great band. With greatness comes great expectations, and on this record mine were not met.
U2 s tenth album, HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB finds the Irish rock icons stripping their sound down to the bare essentials, and offering a more ra...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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