Surprise EP Release - Days of Ash - All Discussion Here

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
dan_smee said:
I’m not sure I feel it sounds “unfinished”. It feels TUF in the way thatalbum really followed instincts to not “over write” or over think the songs, despite it having several lines he’s played with before. I feel like those phrases all finally found their real home.
Click to expand...

Ehh, I think the refrain of “there is no them/there’s only us” works better and is more powerful in Invisible than its repurposing in the verse here.
 
lazarus said:
Ehh, I think the refrain of “there is no them/there’s only us” works better and is more powerful in Invisible than its repurposing in the verse here.
Click to expand...
That line is in Tears of Things

I am David, not Goliath. I was born in Bethlehem.
Now there is no us if there is no them.

I think that’s just a different line showing a different perspective of the Invisible line. And it highlights the stupidity and futility of trying to wipe out Gaza.

The lines I mean are “where you fall depends on where you land” from American Prayer “perfect love drives out all fear” from Crazy Tonight
 
2861U2 said:
On my alternate Pop, I remove LNOE and I don't miss it. I add Holy Joe and I think it fits well.
Click to expand...
The chorus of LNOE is easily the worse thing on POP.

The chorus from WGTRYWH is my least favorite thing on AB.

Other than the chorus from each song, I love the songs overall.

Go figure.
 
lazarus said:
As for Last Night on Earth, I've long maintained that it should have been the lead single from Pop, because it wouldn't be as divisive as Discotheque and is a modern-sounding rocker that cracks open the door to the album's wider experimentation.
Click to expand...
Headache in a Suitcase said:
Last Night On Earth is one of my favorite songs on the album :sad:
Click to expand...
I love Last Night on Earth and Staring At The Sun, I just think the album flows a bit better if the band fully leans in to the electronic songs and takes the more conventional rockers off. (Gone is the exception. It's the best track on the album, and it's still 'night' sounding, whereas I always hear too much daylight in Last Night on Earth).

Staring At The Sun could have been on ATYCLB and taken the place of one of its lesser tracks like New York or Peace On Earth. (I'd actually replace Elevation, but that's just me). And Last Night on Earth would've fit like a glove on HTDAAB, sonically, and been the redeeming moment on my least favorite U2 album. Replace either LAPOE, All Because of You, AMaaW, or Crumbs - take your pick.
 
I read a review of Arctic Monkeys ‘AM’ after it came out that talked about Alex Turner channeling John Lennon in writing songs that have richer detail or more evocative imagery because they find rhymes in the middle of sentences. It really stuck out to me at the time because it was deep in that frustrating period between NLOTH and SOI and I was desperate for new U2. I thought a lot about Bono’s lyrics and I couldn’t really find many examples. And his song writing since has been very much about couplets and McNuggets. Sometimes to great effect, but often the vibe feels too Volkswagen commercial.

My point is - he does it a bit on this EP. And I wonder if some lines would resonate more with people knowing that?

A good example:

Renee Good, born to die free
American mother of three
Seventh day, January
A bullet for each child, you see
The colour of her eye

I read some criticism of the colour of her eye line being a Bono trope and it was dismissed. But he’s saying something more:

Written as sentences - seventh day, January. A bullet for each child. You see the colour of her eye.

It does two things. It evokes the human connection of shared genes - inherited traits like eye colour are often seen as the physical evidence of DNA connection between parents and children. More importantly it evokes the perspective of the gunman. He was close enough to see the colour of her eye and still murdered her at point blank range. If the line is read literally as the rhyme he created, the “you see” and “colour of her eye” parts don’t really mean a lot.

It’s not a throwaway line just because it rhymes. And the “you, see” isn’t just tacked on like “Ned and Fred” in the Blackout.
 
The John Tree said:
I love Last Night on Earth and Staring At The Sun, I just think the album flows a bit better if the band fully leans in to the electronic songs and takes the more conventional rockers off. (Gone is the exception. It's the best track on the album, and it's still 'night' sounding, whereas I always hear too much daylight in Last Night on Earth).

Staring At The Sun could have been on ATYCLB and taken the place of one of its lesser tracks like New York or Peace On Earth. (I'd actually replace Elevation, but that's just me). And Last Night on Earth would've fit like a glove on HTDAAB, sonically, and been the redeeming moment on my least favorite U2 album. Replace either LAPOE, All Because of You, AMaaW, or Crumbs - take your pick.
Click to expand...
That's why I like Staring at the Sun. In the wider scope of U2's career, it helps blend the band into the 00s. Nice song to play on guitar as well.

And i've loved Last Night On Earth ever since I heard the live version during Popmart. Leeds one especially.
 
dan_smee said:
I read a review of Arctic Monkeys ‘AM’ after it came out that talked about Alex Turner channeling John Lennon in writing songs that have richer detail or more evocative imagery because they find rhymes in the middle of sentences. It really stuck out to me at the time because it was deep in that frustrating period between NLOTH and SOI and I was desperate for new U2. I thought a lot about Bono’s lyrics and I couldn’t really find many examples. And his song writing since has been very much about couplets and McNuggets. Sometimes to great effect, but often the vibe feels too Volkswagen commercial.

My point is - he does it a bit on this EP. And I wonder if some lines would resonate more with people knowing that?

A good example:

Renee Good, born to die free
American mother of three
Seventh day, January
A bullet for each child, you see
The colour of her eye

I read some criticism of the colour of her eye line being a Bono trope and it was dismissed. But he’s saying something more:

Written as sentences - seventh day, January. A bullet for each child. You see the colour of her eye.

It does two things. It evokes the human connection of shared genes - inherited traits like eye colour are often seen as the physical evidence of DNA connection between parents and children. More importantly it evokes the perspective of the gunman. He was close enough to see the colour of her eye and still murdered her at point blank range. If the line is read literally as the rhyme he created, the “you see” and “colour of her eye” parts don’t really mean a lot.

It’s not a throwaway line just because it rhymes. And the “you, see” isn’t just tacked on like “Ned and Fred” in the Blackout.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. Been working on connecting the "color of her eye" to something. I thought of the perspective of the gunman, but not the inherited traits thing. Interesting take.
 
"One Life At A Time" is the standout for me, lyrically.

"If there's no law is there no crime"

As someone who has felt nothing but horror when seeing images of the West Bank and Gaza, it's cathartic to hear the band write something from that perspective. Experiencing the betrayal of the last administration and being complicit in it. Attending two protests here in Portland with my daughter (don't worry, I'm not agitating ICE although they deserve our scorn as well) really helped us acknowledge how distressing this issue is to so many of our neighbors.
 
I can't stop listening to these 5 great U2 songs.

And again all I hear is HOPE through the pain. DON'T GIVE UP. They are on the side of the victims. And most of us are victims of people in power throughout our lives.

But I've always believed there are more good people in the world than bad -- by far.

I mean I thought Atomic City was pretty solid song, but these blow that away.
 
It's not surprising that a song about Vegas to promote a show that 99% of fans weren't able to attend didn't go over as well as these tracks that are ripped from the headlines.
 
I wish I could hear what everyone else is hearing here. I like the idea of the EP more than the music itself. I’m genuinely happy they’re back, happy they’re releasing music, and happy they’re not overthinking it. I just don’t hear anything particularly strong melodically.

I’m honestly shocked at some of Bono’s vocal takes. It almost feels like they one-taked a few of these and just moved on. The Tears of Things has a pretty obvious vocal glitch that could’ve easily been fixed, but they just…didn’t. I felt this way about a lot of Songs of Surrender too. There’s a difference between sounding live and spontaneous and sounding sloppy. He’s leaning hard into the nasal tone, and we rarely hear that rich baritone anymore, which is a shame because he had a great one.

It’s been frustrating reading the forum because I’ve struggled to articulate what bothers me, especially the idea that the band is “too concerned with writing hits.” They’ve been writing hits since day one. I Will Follow? Hit. New Year’s Day? Hit! They’ve always been catchy. Melody has never been the issue.

What I’ve struggled with for the past, ****, twenty years is the kind of catchy they are.

Sonically, their 80s and 90s output couldn’t be more different. But the common thread was that the melodies had an ache to them. When I listen to The Unforgettable Fire or Ultraviolet, those melodies don’t just sit comfortably in a sing-song little pocket. They yearn. There’s a certain emotional gravity there.

That’s what feels missing now.

What I’ve been hearing on the last few records and on this EP is something…I dunno, beige. Evenly paced. Overly resolved. Buoyant. It sounds more Train than R.E.M. It’s not bad. It’s just domesticated. And that’s the sting.

This band used to feel like it was reaching for something bigger than pleasantness. Even their most anthemic hits carried weight. Now I’m hearing really heavy themes wrapped in songs that feel oddly weightless.

Bono sounds sharper lyrically, which I appreciate. I don’t have many issues with the writing itself. I’m just bummed that material this thematically heavy doesn’t feel heavy.

They used to reach the rarest heights of pure musical transcendence. Now it often feels like they’re chasing pleasantness.
 
I was trying to find a way of creating comparisons in the more recent catalogue so I could see how I felt about the EP removing some of the recency bias (impossible to remove all).

I stated ranking them against the songs of era, then I thought re-assemble deserved a look in, then got curious about NLOTH. Then it felt weird not finishing off this chapter, so I added in every original song since 2000. I stopped trying to rank song for song after a while and tiered them. I then roughly ordered them in the tiers, but moods will change that order frequently. The tiers feel solid for me. I may do the 80s and 90s as well, and I know there will be very little below 4/10 there. I really just wanted to make something of a case that this era has actually had some pretty good stuff.

Anyway, thought I’d share even though this is probably only interesting to me:

U2 original song ratings - all releases 2000-2026

10/10 class - songs I think are close to perfect - would be wonderful in any era of U2.

The Little Things That Give You Away
One Life at a Time
Luckiest Man in the World
City of Blinding Lights
Book of Your Heart
Beautiful Day



9/10 class - great songs I love, ones that I seek out often and never skip.

The Ground Beneath Her Feet
Tears of Things
Invisible
Stateless
Every Breaking Wave
The Troubles
Song of the Future
The Crystal Ballroom
Love is All We Have Left
Miracle Drug



8/10 class - really wonderful songs that love, but have a flaw or two. Rarely skip, but I acknowledge some limitations.

Vertigo
Kite
One Step Closer
Happiness
Red Flag Day
Moment of Surrender
Sometimes You Can’t Make it On Your Own
Raised By Wolves
Love is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way
Yours Eternally
Lights of Home
Walk On
Treason
Fez-Being Born
Landlady
Iris
Sleep Like a Baby Tonight



7/10 class - songs I really enjoy, think of them fondly, feel inclined to defend if in a discussion about their merits

Electrical Storm
When I Look at the World
American Obituary
Levitate
Soon
Cedarwood Road
13 (There is a Light)
Magnificent
This is Where You Can Reach Me Now
Ordinary Love
Crumbs From Your Table
Ahimsa



6/10 class - still songs I really love, but ones where I can openly see flaws other people don’t like.

Always
Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of
The Blackout
Lucifer’s Hands
White As Snow
Evidence of Life
Breathe
Original of the Species
Cedars of Lebanon
Fast Cars



5/10 class - songs I really enjoy despite knowing that maybe their flaws stack up against them, and I will skip occasionally.

All Because of You
Unknown Caller
The Hands That Built America
Country Mile
Yahweh
No Line on the Horizon
Window in the Skies
Grace
A Man and A Woman
Elevation
Peace on Earth
Winter
In a Little While



4/10 class - songs I still enjoy, but know their limits. Songs I might defend in an argument, but only to establish some objectivity against them extreme views.

Smile
New York
Atomic City
Volcano
Wild Honey
Your the Best Thing About Me



3/10 class - these are fine. I’m not digging into my library to seek them out often, if at all. Not offensive to me at all.

Flower Child
Are You Gunna Wait Forever?
Your Song Saved My Life
Song For Someone
Summer of Love
Love and Peace or Else



2/10 class - songs I avoid most of the time. I’ll still listen to them if I’m on a long drive, but more often than not I am skipping them

The Miracle
Get on Your Boots
Crazy Tonight
Get Out of Your Own Way
Big Girls Are Best



1/10 class - songs I don’t really like. Will rarely listen unless on a vinyl album play through

The Showman



0/10 class - indefensible. Probably the worst two U2 songs ever, and I have nothing more to say

Stand Up Comedy
American Soul
 
Irvine511 said:
I love “Stateless.”
Click to expand...

I reeaally love the sound and feel of Stateless (and Ground Beneath). Have always thought that in an alternate universe where U2 are not a Mega Band or just not a Mega Ambitious Band or whatever, those songs + some elements of ATYCLB really do feel like what would have been the most natural/mature/'comfortable' evolution for them, flowing through as a kind of natural evolution of the the 80s and 90s journey.

For 25 years I've also always thought that if there ever was to be another truly great U2 album (i.e. a third peak alongside JT/Achtung at least in quality if not anywhere near those two in commercial success) it was likely somewhere on that alternate path.

I don't necessarily mean a whole album that sounds exactly like those two specific songs, just that in an alternate universe where U2 are not totally guided by a drive for !!!HITS!!! and stadiums and mass commercial relevancy, I would bet that the sound and songs they would have naturally evolved towards in the 2000s, in their 40s, in their third decade as a band, a naturally evolved child of an Unforgettable Fire/Joshua Tree mother and an Achtung/Zooropa/Pop father? There's no way on earth that natural child would have been... ****ing Vertigo. I think it would have been a combo of these Stateless/Ground Beneath sounding songs and their far more lush and mature feel and sound, perhaps still combined with some of the songwriting chops of ATYCLB.

You can hear it trying to fight it's way back in later, e.g. clear in parts of No Line and some of the stuff around it, and always thought when Bono at that time was first shitting on about this Songs of Ascent idea and the kind of music they'd sidelined to that 'project', always assumed it was that kind of thing and more largely with U2, a bet was what always naturally came forward with them in the studio - because that would make complete sense! - and that is exactly what it was that they were actively trying to steer away from or 'reject' in fairly forceful terms (remember with No Line specifically, he'd talk about "head-up-their-arse stuff" they'd get into and then reject, in favour of going for... what we got).

Anyway, this will always be my U2 white whale or whatever. That there always was a Third Peak U2 Album right there, and it probably always was right there in the studio, and it probably sounded something vaguely like, on the outside 'experimental' ring, some No Line era things like Cedars/Fez/Soon etc, in the middle ring things vaguely like Stateless, Ground Beneath, and at the core some of the ATYCLB great/straight but natural sounding songwriting (compared to forced-feeling Bomb onwards) like Kite, Stuck and even Walk On, but via that far more expansive-lush-veryEnoversionofEuroU2 sound too.

For me, it's always not just been what they've felt they needed to do or chase after, but what they've felt they've needed to reject or steer away from. Over and over and over. They'll open the vaults one day and I just assume that's going to be beyond infuriating.
 
The John Tree said:
I wish I could hear what everyone else is hearing here. I like the idea of the EP more than the music itself. I’m genuinely happy they’re back, happy they’re releasing music, and happy they’re not overthinking it. I just don’t hear anything particularly strong melodically.
Click to expand...
Don't agree with everything you're saying in this post, but definitely agree with this. Melodically it is all so predictable, it almost hurts. And, IMO, the music follows suit far too often. You can almost hear them following the formula written out for each song, instead of following their intuition and inspiration.

I do really like One Life at a Time and Tears of Things almost hits it out of the park (no idea why this song doesn't have 2 minutes more Edge and less Bono).

Big plus side is that Bono is writing some truly beautiful lines. Unfortunately not all of them work as song lyrics.
 
i had to look up Book In Your Heart as I thought I was going crazy to not remember that song and realized it was part of special realease and as I listen to it now I don't think I heard it more than once and at all.
 
dan_smee said:
I was trying to find a way of creating comparisons in the more recent catalogue so I could see how I felt about the EP removing some of the recency bias (impossible to remove all).

I stated ranking them against the songs of era, then I thought re-assemble deserved a look in, then got curious about NLOTH. Then it felt weird not finishing off this chapter, so I added in every original song since 2000. I stopped trying to rank song for song after a while and tiered them. I then roughly ordered them in the tiers, but moods will change that order frequently. The tiers feel solid for me. I may do the 80s and 90s as well, and I know there will be very little below 4/10 there. I really just wanted to make something of a case that this era has actually had some pretty good stuff.

Anyway, thought I’d share even though this is probably only interesting to me:

U2 original song ratings - all releases 2000-2026

10/10 class - songs I think are close to perfect - would be wonderful in any era of U2.

The Little Things That Give You Away
One Life at a Time
Luckiest Man in the World
City of Blinding Lights
Book of Your Heart
Beautiful Day



9/10 class - great songs I love, ones that I seek out often and never skip.

The Ground Beneath Her Feet
Tears of Things
Invisible
Stateless
Every Breaking Wave
The Troubles
Song of the Future
The Crystal Ballroom
Love is All We Have Left
Miracle Drug



8/10 class - really wonderful songs that love, but have a flaw or two. Rarely skip, but I acknowledge some limitations.

Vertigo
Kite
One Step Closer
Happiness
Red Flag Day
Moment of Surrender
Sometimes You Can’t Make it On Your Own
Raised By Wolves
Love is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way
Yours Eternally
Lights of Home
Walk On
Treason
Fez-Being Born
Landlady
Iris
Sleep Like a Baby Tonight



7/10 class - songs I really enjoy, think of them fondly, feel inclined to defend if in a discussion about their merits

Electrical Storm
When I Look at the World
American Obituary
Levitate
Soon
Cedarwood Road
13 (There is a Light)
Magnificent
This is Where You Can Reach Me Now
Ordinary Love
Crumbs From Your Table
Ahimsa



6/10 class - still songs I really love, but ones where I can openly see flaws other people don’t like.

Always
Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of
The Blackout
Lucifer’s Hands
White As Snow
Evidence of Life
Breathe
Original of the Species
Cedars of Lebanon
Fast Cars



5/10 class - songs I really enjoy despite knowing that maybe their flaws stack up against them, and I will skip occasionally.

All Because of You
Unknown Caller
The Hands That Built America
Country Mile
Yahweh
No Line on the Horizon
Window in the Skies
Grace
A Man and A Woman
Elevation
Peace on Earth
Winter
In a Little While



4/10 class - songs I still enjoy, but know their limits. Songs I might defend in an argument, but only to establish some objectivity against them extreme views.

Smile
New York
Atomic City
Volcano
Wild Honey
Your the Best Thing About Me



3/10 class - these are fine. I’m not digging into my library to seek them out often, if at all. Not offensive to me at all.

Flower Child
Are You Gunna Wait Forever?
Your Song Saved My Life
Song For Someone
Summer of Love
Love and Peace or Else



2/10 class - songs I avoid most of the time. I’ll still listen to them if I’m on a long drive, but more often than not I am skipping them

The Miracle
Get on Your Boots
Crazy Tonight
Get Out of Your Own Way
Big Girls Are Best



1/10 class - songs I don’t really like. Will rarely listen unless on a vinyl album play through

The Showman



0/10 class - indefensible. Probably the worst two U2 songs ever, and I have nothing more to say

Stand Up Comedy
American Soul
Click to expand...
Only U2 song I think is close to a zero is the song from SING 2. And yet part of me still likes it because it's my band man. It's our band.

American Soul getting a zero but new one American Obit getting a 7 when to me they are related is interesting...

Not much POP on here...
 
mikal said:
I think that’s the best score they’ve gotten from Bitchfork in a really long time.
Click to expand...

It's their best score since Bomb (6.9) and it was fairly complimentary about the band resisting some of their worst recent impulses. And props to Sodomsky for reading (or at least browsing) the issue of Propaganda and having context for what they're doing.

I'm a little disappointed that they didn't go into detail on more of the songs, considering there are really only 5. One Life wasn't mentioned at all, I don't think.
 
Maybe it's just me but nothing means less to me than music reviews. I never understood them. And the people that do them as always the most "I had a band in high school" vibes, full of jealously... or worse telling us how great the music is in flowery language that means nothing.

Music is so personal man. It's like reviewing white bread to me.

Us going back and forth as fans talking about is fun... but we aren't publishing our reviews.
 
dan_smee said:
I was trying to find a way of creating comparisons in the more recent catalogue so I could see how I felt about the EP removing some of the recency bias (impossible to remove all).

I stated ranking them against the songs of era, then I thought re-assemble deserved a look in, then got curious about NLOTH. Then it felt weird not finishing off this chapter, so I added in every original song since 2000. I stopped trying to rank song for song after a while and tiered them. I then roughly ordered them in the tiers, but moods will change that order frequently. The tiers feel solid for me. I may do the 80s and 90s as well, and I know there will be very little below 4/10 there. I really just wanted to make something of a case that this era has actually had some pretty good stuff.

Anyway, thought I’d share even though this is probably only interesting to me:

U2 original song ratings - all releases 2000-2026

10/10 class - songs I think are close to perfect - would be wonderful in any era of U2.

The Little Things That Give You Away
One Life at a Time
Luckiest Man in the World
City of Blinding Lights
Book of Your Heart
Beautiful Day



9/10 class - great songs I love, ones that I seek out often and never skip.

The Ground Beneath Her Feet
Tears of Things
Invisible
Stateless
Every Breaking Wave
The Troubles
Song of the Future
The Crystal Ballroom
Love is All We Have Left
Miracle Drug



8/10 class - really wonderful songs that love, but have a flaw or two. Rarely skip, but I acknowledge some limitations.

Vertigo
Kite
One Step Closer
Happiness
Red Flag Day
Moment of Surrender
Sometimes You Can’t Make it On Your Own
Raised By Wolves
Love is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way
Yours Eternally
Lights of Home
Walk On
Treason
Fez-Being Born
Landlady
Iris
Sleep Like a Baby Tonight



7/10 class - songs I really enjoy, think of them fondly, feel inclined to defend if in a discussion about their merits

Electrical Storm
When I Look at the World
American Obituary
Levitate
Soon
Cedarwood Road
13 (There is a Light)
Magnificent
This is Where You Can Reach Me Now
Ordinary Love
Crumbs From Your Table
Ahimsa



6/10 class - still songs I really love, but ones where I can openly see flaws other people don’t like.

Always
Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of
The Blackout
Lucifer’s Hands
White As Snow
Evidence of Life
Breathe
Original of the Species
Cedars of Lebanon
Fast Cars



5/10 class - songs I really enjoy despite knowing that maybe their flaws stack up against them, and I will skip occasionally.

All Because of You
Unknown Caller
The Hands That Built America
Country Mile
Yahweh
No Line on the Horizon
Window in the Skies
Grace
A Man and A Woman
Elevation
Peace on Earth
Winter
In a Little While



4/10 class - songs I still enjoy, but know their limits. Songs I might defend in an argument, but only to establish some objectivity against them extreme views.

Smile
New York
Atomic City
Volcano
Wild Honey
Your the Best Thing About Me



3/10 class - these are fine. I’m not digging into my library to seek them out often, if at all. Not offensive to me at all.

Flower Child
Are You Gunna Wait Forever?
Your Song Saved My Life
Song For Someone
Summer of Love
Love and Peace or Else



2/10 class - songs I avoid most of the time. I’ll still listen to them if I’m on a long drive, but more often than not I am skipping them

The Miracle
Get on Your Boots
Crazy Tonight
Get Out of Your Own Way
Big Girls Are Best



1/10 class - songs I don’t really like. Will rarely listen unless on a vinyl album play through

The Showman



0/10 class - indefensible. Probably the worst two U2 songs ever, and I have nothing more to say

Stand Up Comedy
American Soul
Click to expand...
It's always interesting to see different perspectives, and all your ratings seem reasonable to me for the most part, but I do love The Showman. Ahisma being better than Breathe is wild to me, I can't fathom that one. Don't get what anyone sees in Book of Your Heart.

I am in full agreement that Stand Up Comedy and American Soul are the dregs. I would include Song Saved My Life along with them. It's the only other song that gives them a run for worst song. I am perfectly fine if I never hear any of those three ever again.

I didn't rate them all like this, but recently made a playlist of an album that I think makes for a great U2 album from the Songs of Phase onward. I have been listening to this several times this week and I really love it:

1. Love Is All We Have Left
2. Invisible
3. Crystal Ballroom
4. Love Is Bigger
5. Every Breaking Wave (Radio Mix)
6. Iris
7. Red Flag Day
8. Song of the Future
9. 13
10. Landlady
11. Tears of Things
12. The Little Things That Give You Away
 
Nobody re-reviews records more than Pitchfork. Probably because in their relentless desire for “hot taking,” they savage a lot of records that go on to have a lasting impact, while raving about a lot of records that are later seen by most as mediocre given the benefit of time.
 
Reviews are interesting as a cultural barometer. Obviously the opinion of one writer/website doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. But as a fan, it's nice to be able to see that this EP isn't getting savaged everywhere, and I think it's safe to say people here do care about the band's evolving reputation.

By contrast, they did deserve negative reviews for the Too Many Cooks aspect of SOE, and for the compromised vision of SOI, even if I think there are only a handful of terrible songs between the two. The choice of singles, what made the cut vs what didn't, choice of producers, the Apple rollout...I don't know how anyone can say they were steering the ship well in the 2010s. Even the great i+e/e+i tours neglected to play some of the best songs from this era on a regular basis.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
NBA 2025-26 Thread
4 5 6
Replies
162
Views
14K
cobl04
cobl04
TheWanderer
RSD 2022 release: A Celebration 12" with unreleased studio outtake
Replies
1
Views
1K
ascender_RS
ascender_RS
Headache in a Suitcase
  • Locked
Songs of Songs, Books & Fat Puns - New Album Discussion #8
33 34 35
Replies
1K
Views
75K
Headache in a Suitcase
Headache in a Suitcase
LuckyNumber7
Desert Island Mini - LP Island - Rules & Sign Up Thread
2 3 4
Replies
96
Views
8K
Axver
Axver
LemonMelon
Desert Island XI - QUARANTINE ISLAND - Rules and Signup Thread
7 8 9
Replies
265
Views
14K
LemonMelon
LemonMelon

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom