The colossal musical-juggernaut that is U2 decided to gatecrash the biggest sporting event in America and unleash their latest track from an as-yet-untitled, upcoming album.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEyKdpsHKy0 Super Bowl Sunday wasn't just about handball the other night... (it's not really football is it?) The colossal musical-juggernaut that is U2 decided to gatecrash the biggest sporting event in America and unleash their latest; a sneak peek into their ever-ominous, untitled, upcoming album. It would be ridiculous to ever accuse U2 of acting small and to be honest; Super Bowl Sunday fits them to a tee. Sold out stadium? Check. Thousands of expectant fans, complete with famous celebrities dotted in and amongst the action? Check. Everyone cheering and singing en mass? Check. Chuck in a couple of inflatable lemons, a giant claw and some extra lights and you've got a typical U2 gig. Relevance seems to be the main focus in the U2 camp these days and the band has been surprisingly open and honest about this matter. In most of their recent press interviews, various members of the band have talked candidly about whether or not the "world needs another U2 album or not..." much to the probable (I suspect) dismay of their publicists and Live Nation. However, with recent high-profile changes in their management, several nominations and wins for the Mandela-influenced track "Ordinary Love" and the anticipated arrival of a brand new album produced by Danger Mouse, (their 13th) this year seems to be very much turning into the year of the "2." In what could prove a masterstroke in their crusade to stay relevant, the Irishmen allowed their song be downloaded free of charge for 24 hours, straight after its Super Bowl debut. This was further sweetened with the added bonus that for every download, $1 would be donated towards the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, courtesy of (RED) and Bank Of America. That works out two million to a worthy cause and a free song to boot. That's a lot of bang for your (free) buck, but what does it sound like? Is it any good?
The intro and even up to the first 15 seconds or so sounds like Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode having bouncy sex through a retro Sega mega-drive video-game console, all while Danger Mouse does a really accurate Brian Eno impression in the background. I'm not kidding. Alright, I am exaggerating slightly, but listen to it. Seriously! My initial thought was "This doesn't sound like U2. Did I download the wrong link?" Hmm....Interesting. A few more bars in and more synths are layered on with a dashing of Beautiful Day-esque chimes, all mixed in with a sprinkle of delicate guitar ambiance. No I'm not making a cake, but you can bet your bottom dollar Coldplay and The Killers would steal the ingredients if I were. These elements then slowly merge onto the electro backbeat, manipulating the key from a minor to a more major-sounding, happier key where a heavily modulated guitar motif comes in. Sounding almost like a distorted vocal hum, it has a distinct "Achtung Baby" vibe to it and is unmistakably The Edge. This in turn signals the volume of the percussion and Adam Clayton's punchy, root-driven bass to gradually begin to penetrate the artificial sounding elements, turning the composition into a more traditional "four-guys-in-a-band" sound. It's now starting to take shape and definitely sounds slightly more like U2 than before, with Larry Mullen Jr sounding out military march-style snare rhythms that punctuate the shinier pop sheen that surrounds the production. It reminds me of "War" era U2 drumming which is a welcome return, but with a more electric sounding kit. Then the vocals come in and it's that voice. Say what you want about the man, but Bono has got an amazing set of pipes that make most other singers sound bland and vacant. Starting off in a lower register, restrained and with a faintly dark tinge, his delivery is just the right side of gravelly. Each vocal line is laced with enough grit to strip down its earnestness (more on that later) giving each lyric a weary sense of place and a slight weight, providing a vulnerable and reflective quality. "I finally found my real name / I won't be me when you see me again / No, I won't be my father's son" After a couple of little falsetto moments, the band kicks in and Bono starts to engage his trademark "Stadium Rock Mode", his yearning vocal gaining some momentum and height, sweeping through into the chorus. As he begins to unleash his vocal prowess, I begin to think to myself This is sounding very U2. Big chorus, chiming guitars drenched in delay, soaring vocals against the backdrop of bass and drums thumping around. I'm happy. "I'm more than you know / I'm more than you see" It should be noted that Bono doesn't quite go full on "Stadium Rock Mode" with his voice, and in my opinion it is a wise move on his part. While it is clearly evident he can still belt his vocals out with thunderous aplomb, there is very much an element of control on this track. Naysayers may proclaim that this is due to him not being the same singer as he once was, but abandoning that restraint and belting it out any further here would not have - for this writer at least - suited the song half as well. So many artists are that heavily auto-tuned and compressed nowadays that it is rare to hear something that feels authentic. There is a lack of polish on a few of the more subdued lines during the middle eight, but I think it has been left in to preserve the feeling. Overall, it is a very slick, accessible, produced record, but it is great to hear, like Larry's drums, a little bit of rawness in the front-man's vocal. After all, this is rock n' roll, not Dance Floor Anthems 5 or whatever bumph is clogging the charts at the moment. Time will tell on whether or not people think he and the rest of the band can still cut the mustard. Much of that question will be resting on the unveiling of further material in the upcoming year. This is a positive start though. While it may be a relatively safer song than say 2004's "Vertigo" and it may not prove to have the same commercial impact in 2014's very different music industry, the U2 fanbase certainly seem to be fully on-board and excited. The anthemic coda that wraps the song up simply states "There is no them, there is only us...." U2 certainly seem serious about this relevance concept. Let's see if 2014 does becomes the year of the "2."
By day, a typical, clichéd tortured artist with delusions of grandeur. A dyslexic warrior haunted by his poor grammar and dependent on his trusty spell-check.
By night he is the musical gigging front man/guitarist in a heavy alt 2 piece noise outfit know as “Exit Strategy One.”
Armed with enough affirmation to chase his musical dream he shares his downtime between gigs watching box sets and talking rubbish to anyone who will listen.
