MY VIEW
Music: 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb' by U2

By Joshua huff
Special to The Advertiser

The Verdict: THE RATINGS 5 — Outstanding: Add it to your collection now. A must-have. 4 — Great: Buy it or rent it — definitely listen to it. 3 — Good: Worth listening to despite some flaws. 2 — Fair: Unless you're a fan of the group or singer, don't bother. 1 — Poor: Save your money (and your ears).

Style: Pop/Rock.

Rewind: "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" (track 3), "City of Blinding Lights" (track 5).

Skip: "Yahweh" (track 11).

My take: Some bands are destined to live out the entirety of their careers playing hole-in-the-wall clubs, making enough to pay for the gas that gets them from gig to gig.

Some bands have one big hit and promptly fall off the face of the Earth, while others put out some well-received albums and go on a few successful tours.

Then there are bands that are more like corporations, with music tailored to sound good while being played in mammoth arenas. U2 is one of the best — if not the best — examples of what an arena-rock band is.

Four years after 2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind," which seemed to garner universal acclaim, U2 has released "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb."

While many bands would rather call it quits than be pegged as an arena-rock band, U2 seems to embrace it with open arms on its new effort.

"Atomic Bomb" opens with the first single, "Vertigo." The song is the band's "toughest" in years, and The Edge's guitar riff in the chorus seems to almost be a nod to today's rock-revivalist bands like the Hives.

"Vertigo" may give listeners the impression that U2 is headed toward a much more rock-oriented sound, and "Love and Peace or Else," which sounds a bit like a White Stripes song, seems to validate this idea. In reality, these two songs are the only pieces that venture from U2's trademark slow-to-midtempo songs that move from whispering verses to roaring choruses with Bono singing his heart out.

The wide-open feel of other U2 albums is preserved on the band's latest release. All of the tracks have The Edge's reverb- and delay-drenched guitars soaring over Adam Clayton's bass lines and Larry Mullen Jr.'s drumming.

Of course, Bono's vocals are the featured contribution on all of the songs and rightfully so, because it simply isn't sensible to hide what has arguably been the best voice in rock for the past 20 years behind the backing music that the boys in U2 serve up.

The song "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" is similar to "With or Without You." Bono sounds vulnerable on the track, and his pleading voice makes the song come off as incredibly convincing; it definitely tugs at the heartstrings. "City of Blinding Lights" sounds akin to Coldplay's "Clocks," which is a bit odd because Coldplay seems to have made all of its money aping Bono and company.

"City of Blinding Lights" has a very refreshing quality and sounds quite atmospheric. Though this may be expected of a band like U2, which is never afraid to experiment (see "Zooropa" and "Pop"), it's always thrilling to see a band go in a new direction.

For my taste, the band doesn't do enough exploration on the album. "Atomic Bomb" is enjoyable, but it gets a bit formulaic and predictable, which makes the listener wonder just how sincere the band is.

Joshua Huff is a senior at Moanalua High School.

Have a CD you want to review? Reach Island Life deputy editor Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.