U2 experiments with electronica to rave results

From the influences of the now trendy underground techno scene, ambient drum and bass lines have found their way up to the surface and into the recording studios of one of the world's most famous rock bands. Say good-bye to the innocence of Boy - U2 have caught dance fever. And, surprisingly, it's good.

Pop defies the hypocrisy surrounding the late '90s music scene so well, it's almost frightening. In a day and age when music trends change faster than the disc spinning in your stereo, U2 sets the example that bands should end the crusade for originality and get with the program. With packaging as slick as the songs it advertises, the album may contradict anything the band has ever done - or even fathomed - but at the same time, there's a familiar feel to the unfamiliarities. In a sense, Pop proves that sub-genres of sub-genres don't really matter anymore; it's all about shocking the listener.

Old fans of the band won't be the only ones shocked. Even so-called jungle followers may want to check this one out: in addition to the current single, "Discothèque," Pop offers a fairly wide array of electronica and dance-inspired tracks. While nearly every song borrows from the urban techno genre, "Mofo" is, by far, the deepest of the lot. Pulsating with an initial spun-out hook catchier than anything, Bono's lyrics share the focus with the feedback rather than one overpowering the other. And yet even amidst its eerie ambiance, there's still a quiver of the old U2-style guitar whine just after the chorus. Amazingly, this retro-'80's technique adds dimension and flatters the piece rather than destroying it, which could just as easily have happened had the band not been more selective with their production process.

Such experienced editing is almost a given with a band like U2. With a history as old as most of their listeners, the band has earned enough confidence over the years to go further and further into gradual metamorphosis with each album. Not to say that U2 has abandoned their best qualities, one of which is amazing song writing. On the contrary, Pop's sound, as strangely as it fits, still bears the signature trial and triumph lyrics the band is known for.

"Last Night on Earth," is of Achtung Baby renown, blending poppy beats with the story of inaccessible time and a girl who rationalizes "the more you take the less you feel, the less you know the more you believe..." While it doesn't fit the stereotype of U2's technorevolution, it incorporates new experimentation with the familiarity of some of their past projects.

There are, too, tracks like "Miami" with a new feel entirely, ceasing to be confined in either the retro-U2 style or that of their new-found electronic delicatessen. Rather, the song is a blend of almost spoken-word lyrics meshed with a constant sifty-sounding synthesizer and, later, the introduction of the standard band instruments. These, too, are used in an almost mechanical fashion: guitar riffs are repeated in unison with the beat and rhythms are steady and predictable, while Bono sings of faux-glamour and movie-plot reality.

The sole ballad included on Pop is as smooth as the subject matter it describes. "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" begins in almost unthinkable bass tones for Bono's sexy voice and lures the listener into its waves of easy guitar melody. This is the only song on the album that craves no dance floor. And it needn't: with the gentleness of melodic bass lines and lyrics like, "Tonight the moon is playing tricks again, feeling sea sick again and the whole world could just dissolve...into a glass of water," the sultry number is just as unique as its predecessors.

Though Pop may not have the feel-good rock anthems of dual Grammy-winner The Joshua Tree, it could be just as convincing when next year's nominees are announced. U2 have changed their style, arguably for the better. They have been exposed to the new electronic trend and borrowed from it without stealing. U2 are definitely in with the now. Maybe even ahead of it.

War no more: U2 diverges. (photo courtesy Island)