U2
Songs Of Experience

U2 have aged poorly.

Artistically, of course, but also in terms of media presence. The promotional push (with Apple's involvement) of "Songs Of Innocence" dealt a final blow to the popularity of the historic rock band, just as the intrinsic quality of their musical offering has significantly declined after the resurgence shown in the ambitious "No Line On The Horizon".

Except for a great single like "Every Breaking Wave", "Songs Of Innocence" was a confused, scrappy, and unimpressive album, even more so than the much-maligned "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb", which is now twelve years old but at least, despite its incredible production mishmash, offered a few great tracks that became band classics. In short, this "companion" album, "Songs Of Experience", comes out three years after the previous "little brother" and, for the first time, without the usual media fanfare, an unmistakable sign of what was said at the beginning of the review.

Although the decent single "You're The Best Thing About Me" seemed to herald a return to the straightforward stadium rock of "All That You Can’t Leave Behind" (without, however, the driving force of "Beautiful Day", nor the soulful touch of "Stuck In A Moment" or the stellar chorus of "Walk On"), the rest of the album marks yet another, slight shift in the sonic fabric of Bono and company and simultaneously a partial awakening from the stupor of the previous "Innocence".

Unfortunately, there are still plenty of empty moments, and they are abundantly present here too: "American Soul", for example, is an alt-rock track that starts off on the right foot (and riff) but almost immediately gets lost in yet another attempt to replicate the impact of "Vertigo" (the last commercially relevant single from the band, and we're talking about the distant 2005), evoking the awful "Volcano" from the previous album. The propellant effort of guest Kendrick Lamar adds little, despite reciprocating the favor on a collaboration level (U2 participated on "XXX", a track from the latest "DAMN."), and adds nothing noteworthy. Similarly, the promotional track "Get Out Of Your Own Way" sounds classically U2 and continues to reprise the motifs of "Leave Behind", but as usual, without the right push.

Elsewhere there are also good things: after the opener "Love Is All We Have Left", an ethereal keyboard carpet supporting a Bono halfway between Bon Iver and Kanye West's taste for vocoders, we find a "Lights Of Home" finally lively, halfway between acoustic rock and the typical U2 taste of the refrain. "Summer Of Love" is a good pop track, quite functional, sufficiently modern, and sharp; but the surprise is the beautiful "Red Flag Day". Finally a rich, inspired track, recovering the carefree attitude of early U2 with the right filter through acquired maturity. Really beautiful. The same goes for "The Blackout", the most uptempo and aggressive track of the album, and "The Showman (Little More Better)", even Kinks-like (!) in its pace. "Landlady", "The Little Things That Give You Away", and "Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way" are typically U2 ballads and (though pleasant) add nothing new, with the closure "13 (There Is A Light)" being nothing more than a reissue of "Song For Someone" from the previous work.

"Songs Of Experience" is a half step forward, although Bono and company are probably now experiencing an artistic stasis that seems increasingly irreversible. We’ll see what they decide in the future, and if further signs of artistic vitality, which now seem almost entirely compromised, will emerge.

Best track: Red Flag Day