Ireland’s acclaimed modern rockers U2 end a lengthy studio hiatus with “Achtung Baby,” their first all-new LP since the Grammy-winning “The Joshua Tree.” Bono’s passionate vocals and the Edge’s swirling guitar rhythms remain in evidence as the band admirably experiments with industrial sounds and electronics.
However, while solid lyrically, this album fails to coalesce more than half the time. When it does connect, on material such as “One” and “Mysterious Ways,” it’s pretty impressive.
GRADE: B
