ascender_RS
Refugee
Given the involvement in the Sphere shows I'm still holding out hope for one last project with Eno and Lanois involved. I could see it appealing to everyone involved if the timing was right.
New Album Discussion 1 - Songs of..... - Unreasonable guitar album
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They both also had some minor involvement on Songs of Surrender, so who knows
djerdap
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
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Yeah, Eno was complaining about not getting songwriting credits on ATYCLB.
DomCobb
Acrobat
Well we all know if you're taking bets it's likely they won't put it out in time.
That said, Atomic City exists in an ambiguous place where they haven't said either way if it's on the next album. So that could be considered a first look.
I think they've kept that ambiguous on purpose. I bet if the album is out this year, AC is on it. If it takes longer, that won't be the case.
OP
OP
dan_smee
ONE love, blood, life
I know they don’t play in the same circles, but Billie Eilish announced an album with about a month and a half lead time. It’s out in a week and no singles have been released.
Joey788
Refugee
Yeah the zeitgeist is definitely moving away from long rollouts. Taylor Swift also released her album with no advance singles.
I definitely prefer a shorter campaign. But I do think U2 needs to release one song in advance to build some buzz and show how it (hopefully) differs from the last few U2 albums.
I definitely prefer a shorter campaign. But I do think U2 needs to release one song in advance to build some buzz and show how it (hopefully) differs from the last few U2 albums.
OP
OP
dan_smee
ONE love, blood, life
Contrasting, Nick Cave announced with over 5 months lead time. First song dropped two months ago and no word of another.
CedarwoodAWT
Babyface
All U2 albums since after Pop start out as “Unreasonable Guitar Albums” and they invariably evolve into “Very Very VERY Reasonable Guitar Albums”.
CedarwoodAWT
Babyface
I am confident - for men in their mid to late sixties (by the time the next record is unveiled) - this pattern will not change.
JamietheEdgefan
Refugee
I partly agree, though one thing that gives me a little hope is that every album since Pop has been about the band "reapplying for the role of the biggest band in the world", i.e. very consciously chasing chart success, but now we might finally be seeing a different approach.
With Bono conceding during the promo tour for 'Stories of Surrender' that those days are likely behind them, and expressing an ambition to make a 'f-off to the charts' record, there's at least a chance they might be a little more daring than they have been on the last few albums (though I admit it's not highly likely).
PookaMacP
War Child
I'd love this to be true - to hear them lean into their age and the more reflective side of their work. However, I'd be very surprised if they changed their approach now. Atomic City seems like a better indicator since it's so recent.
CedarwoodAWT
Babyface
Agreed! - we can hope.
But “Unreasonable Guitar Record” even sounds like marketing to me.
But you’ve got a fuller quote I haven’t heard… what you reported is encouraging.
It seems to me “No Line” was the last time they tried. It was largely a miss, but I appreciated the effort (maybe not so much the 3 attempted “hits”).
JamietheEdgefan
Refugee
Yeah, that's a good point. The rumour is that Lillywhite and Jackknife Lee - who produced Atomic City - are producing the next album, so I imagine it's a good indication of what's next.
And whilst it has some good stuff imo - much more prominent drums, less slick and overproduced than SoI or SoE etc - i wouldn't exactly describe any of it as 'unreasonable guitar' music.
But then, Bono described HTDAAB as "punk rock from Venus", and NLoTH as "real molten metal"...
And whilst it has some good stuff imo - much more prominent drums, less slick and overproduced than SoI or SoE etc - i wouldn't exactly describe any of it as 'unreasonable guitar' music.
But then, Bono described HTDAAB as "punk rock from Venus", and NLoTH as "real molten metal"...
CedarwoodAWT
Babyface
Ugh - At this point Bono’s album marketing slogans are inversely correlated with the artistic courage of any music they put out.
He probably wished they kept “the Hype”.
Maybe wish it was Eno/Lanois but I’ll be glad for a Lillywhite / Jack Knife produced album.
super fly guy
New Yorker
Hewson
Blue Crack Supplier
2031 it is.
trevgreg
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Well, I'm probably a fan who can look past the hyperbole most of the time. When it's a big band, they'll say stuff to hype up whatever's in the pipeline. Half of that's natural and half of that's trying to get the fans or general public excited about what's coming up. No one in their right mind is going to say "The upcoming stuff is just okay" or "Maybe it'll be something worth listening to." At least it's never not interesting here!
As for the rest - or the actual end result, it's not going to be as easy as going in and saying "We're doing this or doing that style of music." Unfortunately, songwriting doesn't work that way. You can record, say, the most 12 brash sounding guitar tracks (or ambient-sounding material) of all time. But if you can't write a decent melody for the life of you over those songs, then you're naturally going to move on to other things. That's part of the fun of writing songs, but also a major frustrating part too. And the fact that an album comes out of anything or dozens of potential instrumentals is probably a miracle most of the time.
I'm not above critiquing my favorite bands for some decisions though. I mean, did the last album really need two consecutive songs/singles that used the same IV-I-V-vi chord progression?
TinKnight
Refugee
My gut of guts tells me that nothing is going to change: we'll get another "Songs of" album title, maybe 1-3 songs that make me think "Hey, there's the U2 I know and love," and the rest are perfectly adequate, middle of the road adult alternative songs with a bit too much polish on them.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
Most likely. What's really crazy is that all the band really needs to do is simplify things a little bit. I'm a local cover musician in my town, just played Running To Stand Still the other night, and it's crazy to think how powerful that song is but how simple it is at the same time. Also funny that I had this exact thought while performing the song.
interesting. doesn't make sense to release an EP without a digital release that isn't tied to record store day - so i'm going to assume that if this is true that yes, there would also be a digital release tied to it.
ascender_RS
Refugee
Regardless of what's on the EP, it sounds like a bit of a random release. Stuff like that won't register with the general public so it's not going to keep the band in the news so to speak. Of course I'll buy it....
It could also be BS, like how Glorify was due for a post Sphere release
TinKnight
Refugee
yeah U2songs has certainly been more miss than hit in recent times.
something i discovered in my own, brief time running a U2 fan site is that sources that are highly reliable for months or years can dry up without notice, and not all of them are able to admit that they've been cut off and can sometimes feed incomplete, out of date or flat out false information. it's really hard to keep track with what's what - and you really have to be careful what you put out there.
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
What a fart of a release. Who cares?
CedarwoodAWT
Babyface
I mean, did the last album really need two consecutive songs/singles that used the same IV-I-V-vi chord progression?
Spot on! And if I’m not mistaken - aren’t they in the very same key??
The only thought I had about it that might mitigate the ridiculousness of it is thy maybe they just decided - “let’s be blatant about it. These two songs came from the same original draft - so let’s sit side by side and just own it.”
Registered Dude
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
lordy it's been a long time since they've released an LP of new material
Headache nailed it, RE: sources.
But I'm going to defend u2songs 'til the cows come home.
Headache nailed it, RE: sources.
But I'm going to defend u2songs 'til the cows come home.
ascender_RS
Refugee
I'm a sucker for a rumour, I think we all are, regardless of how true it actually is.
But yeah, come on lads, release something new please. None of us are getting any younger.
But yeah, come on lads, release something new please. None of us are getting any younger.
Please EP re-released today
don't get me wrong - he does a tremendous service to the fan community, especially since most of the other usual suspects have all gone away.
i just feel that he's been overly reliant on sources of late that might not be what they used to be. it happens
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