Fall of 2013, not a moment sooner.
Yep. At least there are some of us that actually learn from history.
Rather than have "faith" or actually believe anything they say.
Here's the truth, folks...At one time, Bono could win arguments within the band and dictate a lot things, practically by himself. Considering that he and Edge are often on similar creative pages, this created a situation where they could write and record The Joshua Tree in 6 months. They had the two creative people in the band making most of the creative decisions and they were often on the same page. That meant it was relatively quick and easy in the studio.
But things have evolved to where they've been since the end of ZooTV.
They can't easily agree on anything because they have different creative wants. Four, and possibly up to five different ideas of what needs to happen. Because of this, most bands would have broken up by now, long ago.
Numbers of songs 'finished', timelines for release...forget all of it.
They don't have shit 'finished' right now. To Bono, a "song" is as simple as a drum beat and a bassline recorded over it. Look at his disconnect with the other members of U2 on 'Songs of Ascent'. He considers it a finished album, as well as having material for two more albums...while we (the 'seasoned' among us) all know they don't have
anything finished. Adam agrees with us.
The only thing that matters is when they hire a producer and Bono starts running his mouth about their latest work, often dropping song titles. After he does this, add a year - minimum, and probably more appropriately a year and a half, and you'll know generally when to expect a new album.
We are at no earlier than around August 2013
right now.
That's gospel truth. Watch what they do and not what they say and you'll find yourself agreeing with the obvious...which was everything I just typed.