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Album reviews Music

U2

Rating: NNN


U2’s “it’s already on your iPhone” thing comes across as creepy and intrusive, like some pushy guy at a party who won’t leave you alone. Then again, if all we had to talk about was the music, there wouldn’t be much to say. Maybe creating a diversion was the point.

Songs Of Innocence is a decent late-period U2 album and should satisfy fans, although it’s unlikely to win the band many new ones. Much of it sounds like an imitation of the younger bands that have imitated them. But that photocopy-of-a-photocopy feeling doesn’t seem intentional and makes too many of the songs blandly interchangeable.

The Danger Mouse contributions breath new life into the formula, but he’s not given a big enough role. Much of the material seems focus-grouped to death, but there are enough flashes of pop genius to keep things interesting: soaring singalong choruses, the Edge’s arsenal of futuristic guitar sounds, surprisingly funky nods to their new wave roots.

Top track: The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)

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