U2 - Carnaval de Luz
It is outrageous that, at essentially the age of retirement, these 4 lads can still pump out absolute powerhouse tunes. The first single 'Street of Dreams' left me cold, but 'Silencio' got my attention with its Atomic Bomb vibes. 'The Greatest Show on Earth' may be one of U2's best songs of all time. Not even a joke. The recent BBC performance shows that it works tremendously live too.
The album is a melting pot of U2 sounds. Some songs harken back to Pop ('Go', the opening track, has some weird noises and 'Discotheque' vibes. Should definitely open the tour. Choon of the highest order.) Other tunes have a bang of Atomic Bomb about them (the instant classic 'La Reina' and 'The Mirror Maker', their tribute to Rosalia). The Eno vibes are there too, with some little hints of Unforgettable Fire popping up here and there. We heard 'Glorify' for the first time at the Sphere and glorious does it sound right about now. 'Midnight Sunshine' is their attempt at a soulful pop song. It has its moments but not their best overall. 'Can't Stop Us Now' is pure ATYCLB, maybe a bit long, but brilliant nonetheless. 'Torn', the Dolly Parton duet that closes the album, is an all-timer. Stunning stuff altogether. Adam's bass is front and centre on the album, which we have all wanted. Bono sounds as if he has aged backwards about 20 years. Check out the live performance of 'The Greatest Show on Earth' from BBC. Mother of god, he's an alien. Everyone is happy to see Larry back and Edge is doing Edge things. Nothing new there. If you love U2, you'll love this. This won't make new fans, but it will make the old fans happy.