New U2 album

[u2hmtmkmkm]

Time is reporting that U2's next album is set for April.

http://entertainment.time.com/2013/11/13/new-u2-album-coming-in-april/

Anyone in the know here hearing this, too?

[Brad]

Yeah, the April release news was in Billboard's article about the management shake-up yesterday.

I can't believe any serious journalist is still throwing around "10 Reasons to Exist" as a possible album title. I'm pretty sure Bono was being sarcastic when he said that.

[u2hmtmkmkm]

Exactly. No one in their right mind would name it that because it just gives every critic their headline in the event it's not the best album in the history of music.

[morgan1098]

In my mind the departure of Paul McGuinness is much bigger news than anything about the album.  This is a seismic shift for the band.  Love him or hate him, Paul was the 5th member of U2 for 35 years. This is new territory for them.  I'm not sure how or if any of this will impact the quality of the new album, but it's a huge deal.

Some hard truths in this article: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2013/11/13/u2mcguinnessoseary/

[God, Part II]

Sounds like that article is playing MINORITY REPORT, judging U2 (and Bono in particular) for crimes against music the band has yet to commit. The article reveals much more about its author than those about whom he writes.

[u2hmtmkmkm]

The guys at @u2 are saying an ad will air during the Superbowl with various announcements about the album and a snippet of a song.

[morgan1098]

A couple of recent interviews, especially one in USA Today, have Bono saying that they "hope" to have the album out by June 2014 and that they are releasing "Invisible" because "it's the only track that's finished" from the album, but it's not the lead single. There is also mention of calling in additional to producers to work on stuff when they reach "the final stages"--which they clearly haven't even reached yet.  Ugh.  It's the same old story. I'm guessing the earliest we'll see an album is fall 2014.  There are also rumblings of a falling-out between U2 and DangerMouse.   

[Aaron]

I was wondering what was going on when Paul Epworth's version of "Ordinary Love" showed up.  Maybe it's him they are bringing in to polish off the record?

As for any fall out with Danger Mouse, the fact that he's about to go on tour also possibly means he can't finish the album if they aren't done by now.  If he's not available, they'd have to look elsewhere. 

[u2hmtmkmkm]

they are releasing "Invisible" because "it's the only track that's finished" from the album, but it's not the lead single

I read the words closely on the USA Today article and I got a different impression:

Invisible is not, U2's frontman notes, the first official single from the group's long-awaited new album, expected later this year. "We have another song we're excited about to kick off the album," he says. "This is just sort of a sneak preview — to remind people we exist."

Does that sound like it's from the album? Somehow I got the impression it was entirely independent of the album. Because if that other song is "kicking off the album," it would suggest that that would be the first album material.

[Brad]

I read that as it's a track on the album, but not the official lead single. I guess it could be read either way.

[morgan1098]

There's another interview (also in USA Today, I think) in which Bono calls "Invisible" a "teaser" from the new album.

[dagobah]

I have not seen anyone post (on this forum) about the delay of the new U2 album.  If the delay is actually true . . . . . if we won't get a new U2 album until 2015, then . . . . . that's fine with me.  I love the 2 new tracks Ordinary Love and Invisible.  For me, they represent new melodies and harmonies from the band and I'm thrilled they still have the inspiration to create beautiful music.

I don't want the band to settle for mediocre music . . . . . just to satisfy impatient fans.  If the guys need extra time . . . . . if they need to work with additional people in order to improve on their existing musical ideas . . . . . then I'm OK with that.  Whatever it takes to eventually get another great U2 album.  I'll even take a pretty good U2 album.     

[Zbych]

Visited a friend recently... he bought Nirvana's In Utero Super Deluxe, while going through the pages of the booklet I found this great letter from Steve Albini, the last sentence just nails it - U2 wise:



If a record takes more than a week to make, somebody’s fucking up.

[miryclay]

The problem with albums like albums like In Utero or even Raw Power is that they have mixing issues that hover over them for years and decades. I think any artists that suggests that there is a mixing issue before the album is released is not 100% committed to the album. It actually distracts from the overall project. 

[morgan1098]

Universal Music Colombia(!) just tweeted that U2's "Siren" is coming in September. Not clear if this is an album or single title (probably the latter). But there's lots of buzz building around the interwebs.

...OR it could all just be another false alarm. Anything's possible at this point.