U2
Songs Of Experience

On March 3, 1997, U2 released "Pop", their most controversial work, a great divider among fans.
The album and tour did not bring the expected revenues, to the extent that at the time it was labeled a true flop, with ticket sales 20% lower than what the band's management had anticipated.
Following this crisis, U2 had to take a step back, declaring themselves dissatisfied with the final product. To recover the lost money, they decided to release their first Best Of and precisely to "return to their roots" with what would be their next work.
From 2000 onwards, the third phase of their career began, dedicated to the obsessive pursuit of commercial success, seeking a simple and catchy sound, always haunted by the fear of failing and not gaining the approval of the mainstream audience.
They have always sought to make the perfect pop record, and today they've succeeded.
After the first two unsuccessful attempts to "return to their roots", the third more experimental and the fourth return to adolescence, all incomplete, heterogeneous, nostalgic, or boring, U2 has managed to make the perfect pop record.
With ethereal, dreamy, and suspended atmospheres, the album is the sibling of "Songs Of Innocence" which narrated innocence. Now it's time to hear what they have to tell us about experience. Experience they demonstrate by showcasing their critical and politically engaged side.

"Statues fall, democracy is flat on its back /A big mouth says the people, they don’t wanna be free for free"

"The face of liberty’s starting to crack / The slaves are lookin’ for someone to lead them
The master’s lookin’ for someone to need him"

This is enriched by the participation of Kendrick Lamar, in two tracks on the album where he recites verses from the Bible, which complete the musical picture reflecting on the current political situation of the world, particularly of the United States.
The album's sound is shamelessly pop, a crafted pop enriched by very current R&B influences, almost ambient, sweet and fresh. The Irish group is reborn in this new simple and good form, suitable for their age.
To give an idea and complete the descriptive frame of this new work, not yet released by the way (scheduled release on December 1, I had my ways to manage to listen to it), I'll make a comparison.
When I look for a good restaurant, I seek something refined and sophisticated, just like in music, but nothing, and I mean nothing, compares to my mother's cooking, good and simple, familiar, and so it is and always will be with every U2 album, new or old, simple or sophisticated.
These are U2. This is the experience.