Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media, Inc.
Seeking a impactful return, U2’s next album will be tackled “with some petrol and some matches,” as revealed by frontman Bono.
In the last decade, U2 has presented the world with three studio albums titled Songs Of Innocence (2014), Songs Of Experience (2017), and Songs Of Surrender (2023), with the initially planned Songs Of Ascent now put on hold. Bassist Adam Clayton, contemplating the band’s future beyond their current Las Vegas performances, suggests that a more fitting title for their upcoming record might be Songs For Fighting.
In a recent interview with MOJO magazine, Clayton and U2 vocalist Bono discuss their creative direction. Bono, expressing a desire for a “noisy, uncompromising, unreasonable guitar album,” emphasizes the intention to craft the most audacious rock and roll song they’ve ever made. In Las Vegas, he reaffirms this goal, stating, “I announced it, without discussion, as ‘an unreasonable guitar record,’” and adds that guitarist Edge questioned the level of “unreasonableness,” to which Bono replied, “As unreasonable as you’re ready to take it.”
Acknowledging that the world may not be eagerly anticipating the next U2 album, Bono emphasizes the need to give listeners a compelling reason to be interested. He articulates a return to U2’s roots with “big choruses, clear ideas,” infused with the intensity of “petrol and some matches.”
Adam Clayton asserts, “We are turning the amps on,” expressing a desire to reconnect with the raw power of the rock they grew up with as teenagers, citing influences like Patti Smith and Iggy Pop. Contrasting the shelved Songs Of Ascent, described as a more meditative and spiritual record, Clayton anticipates the upcoming album as “Songs For Fighting.”
U2 recently made a return with the single “Atomic City,” introduced by Bono as “a rock ‘n’ roll 45 in the tradition of late ’70s post-punk.”