U2 goes back to its roots

'HOW TO REASSEMBLE AN ATOMIC BOMB': THROWBACK BUT VERY TODAY TOO

- Hein Kaiser

It's U2, but unlike what we have heard for some time. And even though it has been six months after its release, I just can't stop listening to How To Reassemble An Atomic Bomb.

It's rock, it's raw and unpolished. It's music in the life-melody that saw early albums like Boy, October and War assault and kidnap popular culture into a universe of conscious rock.

But there is a lot more to Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr and Adam Clayton's music. It's easy to get sidetracked by the activism of it all when, in fact, the post punk anxiety and emotionally depth-charged melodies and lyrics of U2 is what made the band incredible in the first place.

It's music we can relate to, dance to, meditate to, feel to. How To Reassemble an Atomic Bomb is a solid reminder of this.

On U2.com, The Edge said that the original sessions for How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb were a very creative period for the band.

"We were exploring so many song ideas in the studio. We were inspired to revisit our early music influences, and it was a time of deep personal introspection for Bono who was attempting to process — dismantle — the death of his father," he said.