Plutonium Rocks !

I've been on a steady diet of U2 this week and have been listening to their new album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb incessantly. And I must say, I like what I hear. Have no doubt, this is an Edge album, Bono was prolly somewhere saving the world and left his old mate at the helm.
So what we're getting this time is more beef and less garnish. Various reviewers are comparing this latest offering to the early albums like Boy, October & War, but I think that's just lazy reviewing. Granted Edge rediscovered his typical guitar sound (hard to explain, but you know what I mean) and most songs are short and powerful. But I never really liked the Anthem-feel of the first albums, which happily has not been used here. What U2 did do was listen to a lot of garage rock bands like White Stripes and Black Keys and took the best of what these had to offer and incorporate it in their sound. Is the album derivative ? Not not really, the up-tempo songs are unmistakably U2, the slow songs are where Bono shines the brightest.
It's not up there with my all-time favorite U2 album which is Achtung Baby, but I do see myself still playing this album in a few years time, something I would not do with the 4 or 5 previous albums.