U2 is in the midst of a 360° turn. According to frontman Bono, their new album will be a complete departure from their usual style. Gone is their usual atmospheric rock: the band is looking for something different. A 100% rock’n’roll album, with heavy guitars and sharp rhythms… And a totally new way of composing.
For Bono, the conclusion is clear: after so many years of success, it’s time for some real introspection… And, as far as the singer is concerned, U2 has lost its way a little along the way.
For the Dubliner, U2 has fallen into the trap of progressive rock. The penultimate album would have muddied the waters, developing approximate songs with no common thread… too commercial, and too far removed from U2’s identity…
We all make mistakes. The progressive rock virus had infected us, and we needed a vaccine. The discipline of our compositional process, what made U2 U2 – the melody of the choruses, the clear ideas – had disappeared.
To remedy the situation, Bono confessed to having started from scratch, by taking composition lessons. The idea seems to be to go back to basics, to rebuild rock anthems, as in the Sunday Bloody Sunday era.
Bono’s objective is clear:
I don’t know who’s going to produce our crazy rock’n’roll album. But what we want is AC/DC, it’s Mutt Lange. The approach. Discipline. The discipline of composition. That’s what we want.
This is sure to please the most demanding fans, who had criticized U2 for getting a bit lost in recent years, with their “main stream” songs, always composed to be commercial successes.
All that’s left is to wait and wait for this new release… which may well herald the return in style of one of the world’s greatest rock bands!
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