The End Of A Dream, The Start Of What’s Real

U2 “American Soul”

The biggest problem with U2 records in the previous decade is that Bono seemed only partly engaged in half the material, a result of the band becoming a secondary concern to him while he was more invested in his philanthropic and political work. This was particularly evident on No Line on the Horizon, their worst album, and the band has admitted that the process of that record amounted to The Edge and the rhythm section building up tracks that Bono would add vocals and lyrics to when he had the opportunity to swing by the studio. They are competent enough to pull it together in the end, but the lack of total commitment is glaringly apparent in the music of a band whose best material connects because they’re so intensely passionate and earnest.

Songs of Experience is interesting to me in that it has flipped this dynamic. Bono sounds incredibly fired up on this record, and has a lot on his mind. They’ve been saying he’s had a recent “brush with mortality,” and that shows in his lyrics here – half the songs are written as though he’s trying to make sure certain sentiments get on record before it’s too late, and other half is essentially him begging people around the world not to give in to right wing extremism and fear-mongering. His messaging can get a bit wobbly, but the urgency and sincerity is both welcome and compelling.

The Edge, on the other hand, seems a bit lost. He’s become very fixated on making sure U2’s new material is “part of a current conversation that’s going in music culture,” which is essentially code for “we want to still get played on rock radio alongside Imagine Dragons and Portugal the Man and whatever other random major label rock band has squeezed into way into playlists.” And look, I get it! I totally understand where they’re coming from with this on a few levels. But the result of this anxiety is that The Edge has backed away from so much of what makes him a brilliant and unique musician that a lot of the songs on this new record only really sound like U2 because Bono is singing. And for what? Contrary to what he’s thinking, no amount of blunt power chord riffing is going to make anyone mistake U2 for a fresh young act. The musical comb-over is not going to work. Reducing the weird bits and pushing towards blandness is not going to score them a big hit single in 2017. U2, by virtue of the magnitude of their fame and popularity, will always command a certain amount of attention when they release a new record, and get some airplay out of respect and obligation. So why not embrace this, and try to stand out rather than blend in? If you want to be part of the conversation, then lead it for a change. Where is the dignity in showing up just to say “me too” when you’re a legit living legend?

“American Soul” is the most exciting song on Experience. The verses will be familiar to anyone who has heard Kendrick Lamar’s “XXX” – it’s the same refrain thing Bono sings in that song, but now it’s paired with an Edge riff that has a hyper-compressed tone similar to what he was doing on “Discotheque” two decades ago. On a lyrical level, “American Soul” is the culmination of about 30 years of Bono’s thinking about the idea of the United States, the roots of rock music, and the hard work of social progress. If you know Bono, you are very familiar with these themes – he’s in love with the concept of America and is heavily invested in the notion of the “melting pot,” and acknowledges rock and soul as American inventions. The core of this song is a reaction to Trumpism, and a rejection of that vision of America. But the admirable thing here, and on other tracks on the record, is that Bono isn’t dwelling on the past. He’s got his eye on the future, and thinking about how to move on from a dark time to something better. “There’s a promise in the heart of every good dream,” he sings. “It’s a call to action, not a fantasy.” As Bono calls for community, unity, and compassion, it’s as inspiring as he’s been in ages. You just have to forgive the goofy “Refu-Jesus” line at the end, that’s all.

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