Fans of the legendary rock band U2 believe that whatever the group releases next will be panned by listeners.
The Bono-fronted band has hinted at new material to come later this year after releasing two EPs worth of songs. Days of Ash and Easter Lily were released earlier this year and prompted fans to wonder whether more material could be on the way. U2 has not released an album since 2023’s Songs of Surrender, a collection of covers of their own work. Fans have since taken to the r/U2 subreddit and suggested there could be new material on the way. Said material could be announced around the start or end of the World Cup, with fans noting the 50th anniversary of the band could be the right time to make an announcement.
One fan wrote: “U2’s next album is damned if they do, damned if they don’t, because of their style. U2 has such an iconic sound (someone else already posted about that today), but they have a crossroads with this next album and neither option is very good. With Songs of Innocence, U2 tried to modernise their sound, and it couldn’t have gone more wrong.
“People in and outside of the community had few good things to say about that album. Regardless of anyone’s thoughts on it, that is what U2’s sound modernised is. If they go with that, then the new album will get written off as ‘too pop’ by fans and ‘too similar to Songs of Innocence‘ by outsiders.
“The other option is to try a whole different style. This is kind of what they did with Songs of Experience. The issue with this is that it doesn’t sound like U2. As much as I like Songs of Experience, it does not sound like U2, barring one or two songs. If they take this path, people will say ‘they are selling out’ and that U2 has completely lost the plot.
They hit a sweet spot recently with the EPs, but they won’t replicate that sound on the album. U2 has always been about polish, sometimes to there determent. But because the EPs were rushed out, they skipped the polish and were all the better for it. The mastering was kind of strange, and Bono missed a word in One Life at a Time, but it was a net positive overall. They are too careful with their albums and, especially after an almost 10-year gap between them, this one will be polished to the max.
“I’m hopeful they find a good spot, but the clip of Street of Dreams is not giving me hope. I like the melody and lyrics of what I’ve heard, but the production is not what I’m looking for. Here’s hoping the next one rocks.” Others were less interested in what the band could do, instead suggesting they would do whatever they want.
A fan replied: “None of this matters. They’re a 50-year-old band, they aren’t trying to pay bills. They’ll do what they want to do, the audience who’s here for it will love it, who cares what everybody else thinks?”
Another agreed, adding: “Yeah they’ve nothing to prove at this point. They’re doing what they do because they enjoy their job and there’s still plenty of people who want to see what they’re up to.”
A third shared: “This is the band they want to be. Not necessarily ‘popular’ but respected for their approach to music. A few extra quid never hurts to keep the process going. I’ve been enjoying U2’s highs and lows for 40 years.”
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