Artist to Watch

WXPN Radio

The premier guide for new and significant artists in rock, blues, and folk - including NPR-syndicated World Cafe ®

Listen Xpo

24/7 Musical discovery. A unique mix of emerging and heritage blues, rock, world, folk, and alt-country artists.

Singer Songwriter Radio

Featuring classics from heritage troubadours to new musicians and bands in the singer-songwriter tradition.

Folk Radio

Folk music radio streaming on the web; Americana, Roots Music, recordings, and stories from folk's best.
Listen Live

U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - Interscope Records

Rapidly approaching their 30th anniversary as a band, and now almost 25 years since the release of their debut, Boy, I can think of few bands who have not only continued to impact popular culture and music but who continue to make great recorded music. Undeniably, U2 is one of those bands.



If it’s even imaginable, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb may be U2’s best album since The Joshua Tree. And not that their albums since then haven't been good. In fact, albums like Achtung Baby and All That You Can’t Leave Behind are possibly two of the greatest albums recorded since 1990.

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb is a superb album, containing all of U2’s timeless musical and lyrical signatures. Songs about faith and the intimacy of love are couched in sounds that often recall the spaciousness of records like The Unforgettable Fire and their all important Joshua Tree yet reach back even further to the melodic toughness of their 1983 classic War.

Atomic Bomb is instantly recognizable, yet it is altogether a completely whole new U2 record. You’ll hear familiar guitar riffs from their earlier songs but you just can’t place them. The song “Crumbs From Your Table,” may immediately remind you of “Stuck In A Moment” from their last album, but then along comes The Edge’s inventive, circular, psychedelic guitar work and takes the song to a different place. This is part of Atomic Bomb’s brilliance.

From the opening moment of the album when Bono counts down to the power chords of “Vertigo” in Spanish to the cathartic finish of the album’s last song, “Yahweh,” U2 have once again confirmed their place as one of the greatest rock bands of all time…and getting better at it with each new release. You can only say that for a few - if any - rock bands still recording 20 years into their careers.

Written by Bruce Warren

Release Date: 11/23/2004

Buy it now at our CD Store

Check out our other Featured Albums of the Week

Visit Artist's Official Site.

Help Support WXPN

Light Heat’s new album now streaming at The New York Times website (appearing on XPN Philly Local...

Light Heat‘s self-titled debut is due out on June 25th via Ribbon Music, but if you’re itching to hear it now, the album...Read More

Folkadelphia Session: Balto (performing at Lickety Split this Wednesday)

Because you love to discover great music, this week we’ll be debuting 3 new Folkadelphia Sessions for you to fall in love with....Read More

How some Philly punk rockers are giving back to the community with the Big Footprints Project

Brendan Lukens is used to watching things grow right before his eyes. The frontman and founder of Philly local pop punk band Modern...Read More

Watch a conversation with instrumental duo El Ten Eleven, shot at the North Star (playing Johnny Brenda’s on...

El Ten Eleven is a duo that doesn’t like to be captured in a label.  They make powerful instrumental music that spans various...Read More

Watch Local Natives’ New Video for “You & I” (playing Electric Factory on 9/28)

An XPN favorite indie rock band from Los Angeles, Local Natives just shared a new video for the opening track of their sophomore...Read More