When Amazon decided to delete all Kindle copies of George Orwell's 1984, users were horrified that their devices could be manipulated without their consent. It’s fair to say when U2 and Tim Cook digitally inserted the new U2 LP into iTunes this week, many of the 500,000,000 users had a similar reaction.
What’s interesting is that the launch of Songs Of Innocence wasn't actually that shocking. Whether it's Jay Z getting into bed with Samsung for Magna Carta Holy Crail, Tom Petty releasing his tour tickets with an album attached or David Bowie, Beyonce and Radiohead releasing albums at (extremely) short notice, it's seems increasingly like a conventional album launch has gone the way of the CD single.
In many ways, the launch did achieve what Bono and co. wanted: it got the band talked about after five years of missed deadlines and postponements. The album title trended on Twitter for a day or so and it’s been dubbed “the biggest album release of all time” (even though it isn’t included in Nielsen Soundscan and won’t appear in either the Billboard or British charts). The band have, through somewhat extreme measures, managed to potentially get to people who don’t even own a copy of Achtung Baby.
"People who haven’t heard our music, or weren’t remotely interested, might play us for the first time because we’re in their library,” Bono wrote on U2’s official site, “Country fans, hip-hop afficionados from east L.A., electro poppers from Seoul, bhangra fans from New Delhi, highlifers in Accra might JUST be tempted to check us out, even for a moment.” But quite what east LA’s rap community are going to make an album about Bono’s personal memories about growing up in Dublin remains to be seen.
For the modern nature of its delivery, this is a throwback record. A chance for Bono to ditch the wraparound shades and remember a simpler time for rock’n’roll - a time when you didn’t have to worrry about the Cupertino live stream being in mandarin for example. It’s an album about teenage ambitions, getting to tour LA for the first time, listening to the Beach Boys and the sheer joy of going to see the Ramones and The Clash. Even with five producers - including Paul Epworth and Danger Mouse - apparently what they’re after is simplicity. “There's nowhere to hide….clear thoughts, clear melodies” was Bono told Rolling Stone.
The problem is that in trying to make a ‘classic’ U2 record, the band are stuck in a moment they can’t get out of. As Pete Paphides explained on Twitter, if they aim constantly to write stadium anthems that cements their position as the biggest band in the world, this will only result in disappointment. Much like it’s the small moments you remember in a Steven Spielberg blockbuster, sometimes it’s the less 'anthemic' songs that get closer to the heart of the band.
The biggest problem Songs Of Innocence faces is that U2 occasionally sound like they’re trying to copy the bands who copied them - resulting in the horrifying prospect of U2-doing-Arcade-Fire-aiming-for-Mumford-resulting-in-Snow-Patrol. ‘Every Breaking Wave’ sounds like Coldplay platitudes over The Police. ‘The Miracle (Of Johnny Ramone) has the feel of U2 by committee: you can almost hear the record company execs pump the air from their leather armchairs. Surprisingly the military drama of “This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now” is about as thrilling as your average episode of Nineties TV favourite Soldier Soldier.
There are songs that deal with genuine heartbreak - 'Iris (Hold Me Close)' deals with the death of Bono’s mother and 'Raised by wolves' focuses on the aftermath of a car bombing - but there is such a sheen over the entire LP it's difficult for them to hit home. There are some more intriguing moments - mainly courtsey of Danger Mouse - and rock tracks like 'Volcano' prove that when they put their minds to it U2 can still deliver.
Is it any good? It’s difficult to say. Much like binging on Netflix rarely matches the delayed gratification of following a TV series live, it will be interesting to see how the album stands up when its released in October. It's an experiment that reminds us of U2's huge potential - but also illustrates the funk that has stopped them putting out an album for five years. And, for some, even a surprise U2 album will be the fourth most interesting event after the Apple Watch, the iPhone6 and even the iPhone 6Plus.
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