release date: Dec. 1, 2017
format: digital (17 x File, FLAC - Deluxe Edition)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,72]
producer: various
label: Island Records / Interscope Records - nationality: Ireland
Track highlights: 3. "You’re the Best Thing About Me" - 4. "Get Out of Your Own Way" - 7. "Red Flag Day" - 12. "Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way" - 14 "Ordinary Love (Extraordinary mix)"
14th studio album by U2 following three years after Songs of Innocence (Sep. 2014) is like that produced by a conglomerate of people of which Steve Lillywhite, Jacknife Lee, Ryan Tedder, Brent Kutzle, and Paul Epworth are central co-producers. Lillywhite asures that 'back-to-the-origins' sound everyone associates with U2, and in that regard the album signals something original that never came to mind with the predecessor. The album has been released in various formats - the standard album consists of 13 songs, a double vinyl issue counts 16 tracks, and the digital Deluxe Edition consists of 17 tracks of which two are extended mixes. The standard album has a total running time of 51 mins, and the Deluxe Edition runs just under 68 mins.
With this, U2 revisit their own musical starting point, they combine electronic experimentation à la Pop, and they explore new territory without ever sounding like anything or anyone else than U2.
I dunno, it's a bit of a weird combo pointing in all directions - 'Everything everywhere all at once' to quote a fine movie title, only this is far from a quality release. The second single taken from the album "Get Out of Your Own Way" mostly sounds The Killers and Coldplay paying tribute to U2 - not that it's completely bad, it's just like so reworked and not remotely original. The exact same thing could be attributed to "Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way", the fourth and final single from the album. Personally, I think track #14, which isn't part of the standard album, is one of the best moments here - the only song here produced by Danger Mouse. Also track #17 "You’re the Best Thing About Me (U2 vs. Kygo)", a danceable remix of track #3 works in the better half, but that also says more than just a small bit about the whole album, 'cause highlighting a remix of a song that sounds like a remake of classic U2, does that work as a recommendation?
Even the title - paraphrasing the 2014 album - is embodied sloppiness. Bottom line, and admittedly, I'm no longer a fan, but this is redundant and not recommended. Compared to the predecessor, this is even a clear step in the wrong direction, and together with Pop this really hits U2 rock bottom. The reason I still hand it 2,5 stars is mostly due to the quality in production sound.
