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| U2's `Pop' fails to repeat brilliance of past albums |
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by Noelle Berryman
U2 re-emerged with their new album Pop , and, to my dismay, it did not have the classic, head-rush sound I had come to expect from a band that has been churning out mega-hits since their debut in 1980. In the past, U2 has provided quality tunes that made me sing along, tap my foot or squeal with delight when a song of theirs comes on the radio. Pop does not continue that legacy. The new sound is metallic, synthesized and repetitious -- only a shell of U2's former sound exists in their first track "Discotheque." I hate to say it, especially about the band that had formerly been my favorite, but each song could very easily be a continuation of the previous one. The album's attempt at dance music is a step down at best and a complete failure at worst. The instrumentation sounds generic -- the same sort of thing is heard in every mind-numbingly loud discotheque in the United States and abroad. Pop does not come near to rivalling the popular dance music that has been winning fans internationally -- it lacks the pounding energy that has been the trademark of the genre since its inception. One salvageable song on the album is "If God Will Send His Angels," but even this track never culminates in the climactic rush that Bono and the Edge are capable of producing. Just when I began to appreciate the lyrics, I realized that the song has the same haunting feel and base line as "You're so Cruel" from U2's previous release, Achtung Baby. "Staring at the Sun" succeeds where "If God Will Send His Angels" fails. The multi-faceted tone is enough to keep me awake and grooving to the tune. Overall, this venture into the dance-music craze was a failure for U2. I am inclined to think that Pop was just an experiment gone bad. Every band deserves to have one bomb without losing their following -- for U2, this is that bomb.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the April 18, 1997 issue. |
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