With a retrospective gaze, we can spot that U2’s final stretch of genuine artistic pertinence came to a close with the release of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in November 2004. The album brought their last significant mainstream success with the single, ‘Vertigo’, whose memorable chorus still lingers in many minds. Among other remarkable moments, ‘City of Blinding Lights’ demonstrates one of the Edge’s crowning achievements with its enormous, beautifully interweaved riff.
Following this, the Irish band’s artistic decay was startling. They evolved from a group with a meaningful narrative, to a profitable touring entity whose infrequent studio releases merely reminded fans of their waning creativity.
From the late 70s until 2004, each unveiling from U2 had an appreciable significance. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb marked the end of this era. Their subsequent albums; ‘No Line on the Horizon’ from 2009, which was disappointingly unmemorable, and ‘Songs of Innocence’ from 2014 and ‘Songs of Surrender’ from 2017, struggled to combine Bono’s passionate reminiscing of his Dublin upbringing and journey to stardom with memorable music.
This is emphasised by their two recently released singles from an upcoming ‘shadow album’, featuring unreleased tracks from the Atomic Bomb sessions. The album, entitled ‘How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb’, will be released on the 22nd of November. ‘Country Mile’ and ‘Picture of You (X + W)’ are refreshingly addictive tracks and effectively display U2 at the height of its musical creativity.
U2 were at their most potent when they absorbed the contemporary alternative rock scene and added their own unique, larger-than-life spin. In the late 1970s, they embraced the post-punk trend, predominantly driven by Joy Division, and incorporated a stadium-rock sparkle. Their 1991 album, ‘Achtung Baby’, paid homage to shoegaze and was influenced by bands like The Stone Roses, as unmistakably seen in the Edge’s glowing riff at the beginning of ‘Mysterious Ways’.
The album, “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb”, narrated a particularly transformative phase for U2. It was a time when Bono had lost his father a few years earlier, reaching their middle 40s – although far from being old, they were at a stage where the comfort of their success could most likely influence them. At this point, they were prosperous individuals, in their early middle age, owning family homes, private yachts, and worldwide properties. Although such status often spells doom for many musicians, U2 managed to briefly navigate it successfully with this album.
Moreover, with the track “Country Mile”, it became evident that U2 in the early 2000s was cognizant of the emerging young bands making anthemic music, amongst which were Coldplay and Travis. This isn’t to claim that Bono was emulating Chris Martin, but the track, with its resonating guitar sounds and the chorus singing “I, oh, I believe you…” encaptures the same concept of an indie-singer pouring out his deepest emotions, something that became characteristic of Coldplay’s “Yellow”.
Then there’s “Picture of You (X + W)”, the subsequent preview for “How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb”, deviating slightly to a more primitive, grunge style. It features a melody carried by the splendid harmony of Edge’s rhythmic guitar and Bono’s high-reaching chorus (“all I want is a picture of you … a picture in a locket”).
Regrettably, U2 has not been able to recapture the same level of brilliance since then. These two tracks were extraordinary, yet they serve as a poignant reminder of their symbolisation: a last, vibrant display of glory before sliding into anonymity.