It's easy to forget that around the time of the original Band Aid, U2 were widely regarded as a bit of a flash in the pan. Twenty years later, Bono is the only singer still cool enough to appear on the new version - and, amazingly enough, the band's music is beginning to sound like their pre-Joshua Tree era all over again. So on How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb we're back to the U2 you either love or hate: big, elemental, rock-soul songs, often a bit pretentious but usually redeemed by irresistible melodies. The only real difference is that Bono is probably an even better singer than he used to be, while the Edge is definitely a better guitarist - his powerful, echoing riffs providing many of the most memorable moments here. A couple of over-the-top tracks let the quality control down a bit, but all you really need to know is that when U2 come to release their definitive Best Of, it'll probably include half a dozen songs from this album. Do you really need any more encouragement?
