The pacing is shit and ruins the entire album.
It sounds like Brand New with all the best parts of Brand New missing.
U2 gets too much hate from the average person. IMO they haven't released a good single since "Electrical Storm" from the Best of 1990 - 2000 compilation, but they really were one of the greatest mainstream rock acts of the 20th century.
People need to look past Vertigo, Bono's exponentially increasing douchebaggery, South Park, the iTunes album, etc.