I don’t feel as frustrated by delays as I used to - partly because it’s been so long at this point that tacking on another 6 months or whatever doesn’t seem like such a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
But mainly because the longer they take, and the more times they start over, the more distance they put between themselves and the ‘Songs of’ era.
With a couple of exceptions, I just didn’t love the overall sound or style of that era, particularly the Ryan Tedder style, and the extent to which the attempt to ‘modernise’ the band made them sound less unique and unusual. Not to mention songs like ‘Summer of Love’ that were essentially re-worked One Republic sketches, and didn’t feel fundamentally conjured up by U2 themselves.
And having two ‘songs of’ titles, and near-identical tours may have worked if the albums had been released together, or a year apart, but as a fan, waiting three years to get a continuation of the same, rather than a new era, did leave me feeling underwhelmed and a little disappointed when SoE and the Experience and Innocence tour finally materialised. The whole thing was missing a part of the magic I’d feel when they started a new chapter.
So the longer they take, I reckon the greater the chances are that we’ll get that experience of a new ‘era’. And I’d rather a new, novel album in 2026 than if we’d already had another Ryan Tedder produced ‘Songs of’ album by now.
(… Of course, ideally I’d rather a new, innovative album from them right now. But this is the silver lining I’m trying to find in all this silence.)