U2
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
(Interscope)
www.u2.com 

U2 ROCKS!!!

Got that? It would be an understatement to declare that Atomic Bomb is a return to form for our Irish megastars but really, it’s a continuation of what All That You Can’t Leave Behind began in year 2000.

Glad to report that as far as U2 circa 2004 is concerned, it’s as if the 90s never happened. Personally, I’d given up on this once-favorite band as soon as I heard bits of Zooropa but hey, the band I loved is well and truly back!

Bono has stated that Atomic Bomb is U2’s first album and whilst you might dismissed that as mere hyperbole but I supposed you could definitely say that Atomic Bomb  confirms that the band are in a new season of their rock careers.

Thank goodness for that!

 The opening (and by-now ubiquitous) “Vertigo” finds U2 rocking out much heavier than we’re used to with a atypical Edge riff and a lyrics that resonate with a spiritual undercurrent – “I can feel your love teaching me how/Your love is teaching me how, how to kneel…”

The rest of Atomic Bomb never quite rocks out as hard but there is no denying the intensity of words and music in tracks like the evocative “City of Blinding Lights,” the poignant “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” (written for Bono’s late father), the pulsating “All Because of You” and the vibrant “Crumbs From Your Table.”

Which leads us to “Yahweh” – a heartfelt prayer that touched my heart deeply with its sincere plea to the Almighty – “Take this city/A city should be shining on a hill/Take this city/If it be your will/What no man can own, no man can take/Take this heart … and make it break.”

Whilst Atomic Bomb is no masterpiece in the class of Boy, Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby, it deserves all the attention and plaudits it’s likely to get.

So shout it from the rooftops – U2 IS BACK!!! A

(Thanks to Edward and Boon Pah for their contributions)