OK, that headline may be a tad harsh considering U2 are undeniably one of the biggest rock bands of all time.
I guess I’m still smarting over how Songs of Innocence was unwantingly foisted on us all three years ago. How can a song dedicated to Joey Ramone ring so incredibly hollow?
Anyway, everyone’s fave Irish music activists debuted “The Blackout” on their Facebook page. It has a classic ’90s, Achtung Baby feel, with a killer bassline by Adam Clayton and infectious “When the lights go out” chorus that’ll worm its way into your ear unlike any song of theirs in recent memory. There’s even a little political bite with lyrics such as, “Statues fall, democracy is flat on its back”. You’ve been warned Trump, even if it’s unlikely Bono will be leading crowds in chants like Eminem did.
The gritty black-and-white video was apparently shot on July 28th at a “raw, industrial” nightclub in Amsterdam according to Westerunie’s translated website. It’ll be interesting to see if “The Blackout” will be integrated into the non-Joshua Tree portion of U2’s setlists when their stadium tour gets going again at Detroit’s Ford Field before new kajillionaire Matthew Stafford moves back in. What we do know for sure is that it’ll be on new U2 album Songs of Experience, although it isn’t a single. That honour is going to “You’re the Best Thing About Me”, coming September 6th.
Good to hear U2 still know how to write a catchy song.