Love Is All We Have Left: A really light song, I like Bono’s vocals on this track, even when they get filtered and strange. There’s not really much to the song, but it feels like it could be a great starter/finisher to a concert, given the rather nice lyrics and kind-of bright yet minimal instrumental. Not sure it’ll be a replay-button breaker, but it’s a solid starter, all in all.
Lights of Home: Things pick up here with the more rockin’ guitar intro, but the song itself doesn’t take things too fast. I do like the multitude of meanings by the lyrics that touch on ideas of death, and once again, Bono’s vocals are pretty solid. Pretty good track, I must say.
You’re the Best Thing About Me: Another rocking guitar track introduces this more loud, slightly faster-paced track. I like the really nice lyrics about love, the drum beat on the hook, and the overall brighter sound of this track. The instrumental breakdown is also a lot of fun. Another pretty good song.
Get Out of Your Own Way: While I love the brighter sound on this song, and I think U2 handles a more “modern” sound pretty well, I’m not really crazy about the hook, as I think the vocals are a little cheesy and laughable. It’s not enough to ruin the song, though, especially with the really solid, subtly political lyrics here, and Kendrick Lamar’s feature at the end is wonderful. Not a bad track, and it might grow on me in the future.
American Soul: The “ending” of Kendrick’s poem transitions to a more hard, guitar-heavy song that kind of serves as the culmination of U2’s feature in Kendrick Lamar’s “XXX.,” and again, while I’m not too crazy about the hook, I do like the more political lyrics (this time, specifically zeroing in on refugees) and the harder, more thrashing sound of this one. Another track that might grow on me in the future.
Summer of Love: Dialing things down, this track starts with a guitar melody that’s far less thrashing, but still fun and irresistible. Bono once again focuses on the Mediterranean refugee crisis in this song, and I really like his vocals a lot. The hook is also really strong, and the lyrics are pretty solid. I like this track a lot!
Red Flag Day: Continuing from many tracks already on here, Bono talks about self-image and lifestyle, along with the Syrian refugee crisis. He does this over a more lively, uptempo track that features some solid vocals, a good hook, and more interesting lyrics. Not one of my favorites on the album, but it’s a pretty solid track, all-in-all.
The Showman (Little More Better): While I do like the very personal lyrics on this track, I’m not really as crazy about Bono’s vocals throughout, and the hook is pretty unmemorable all-around. Definitely a track I can’t see myself coming back to.
The Little Things That Give You Away: This much lighter song features a more minimal drum beat that feels a bit more electronic, but the song just sounds really pretty. I like the bright guitar track, the lyrics that discuss Bono surviving an “accident,” Bono’s really wonderful vocals, and a hook that might be the album’s best. I think I’ll be replaying this one quite a bit.
Landlady: Keeping things pretty light, I once again really like Bono’s really nice vocals on this track and the lyrics feel pretty personal and solid. I’m not too drawn by the hook on this one, but it’s a pretty decent song overall.
The Blackout: I love the guitar intro on this track! I also really like how Bono talks about the band’s musical relevance on this track, his vocals remain sharp, the drum beat is straight but plenty of fun, the sound changes throughout are really interesting, and the hook is pretty memorable. Great track!
Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way: With the more filtered vocals on the intro, I felt like this was going to be more of a “modern-sounding” track, but this more piano-heavy song actually feels like a wonderful balance between the old and the new! I once again also really like the more positive, love-driven lyrics on this song, the bright sound is wonderful and, as short as it is, the hook is plenty memorable! I had a lot of fun with this track, I really liked it!
13 (There Is A Light): The final track on the “non-Deluxe Edition” of the album is once again extremely light and kind of minimal, but Bono’s vocals are still quite nice, and I like the lyrics on this track, talking a lot about keeping the metaphorical “darkness” away by shining the “light” on it with love and kindness. The hook is also very sweet, and I think it feels like a really appropriate (and really strong) ending to the “non-Deluxe Edition” of the album.
Ordinary Love (Extraordinary Remix): A Golden Globe-winning song in 2013, this new Remix to “Ordinary Love” is exclusive to the Deluxe Edition of the album, and it’s a pretty fun, bright, energetic track with some more solid vocals from Bono and a catchy drum-beat. I probably won’t play it on loop or anything like that, but it’s a pretty fun listen overall.
Book of Your Heart: Another more “electronic” song that features some nice, more subdued, and filtered vocals from Bono. I like the brighter instrumental on this song, but I don’t really find the hook all that memorable, especially compared to some of the other hooks on this record. It’s not a bad track overall, though, just not one of my favorites.
Lights of Home (St. Peter’s String Version): A more string-heavy version of one of my favorite songs on this record, a lot of what I said about the original version applies here. The extra string track just serve to make the song feel a bit more epic. I do still like the original version a bit more, but this version is still pretty great, and I feel like I’ll be able to enjoy the song, regardless of which version I choose to listen to.
You’re the Best Thing About Me (U2 vs. Kygo): This track is supposed to be exclusive to the CD version of the “Deluxe Edition,” but apparently, it made its way to Spotify, so I was able to listen to it. Kygo has done some remixes that I’ve really enjoyed before (look no further than his re-creation of “Starboy”), but I was interested to see what he would do with this track, and while I think he successfully keeps it pretty faithful and fun, and I think the hook sounds a bit more fun on this version, there’s something I like better about the original cut. I’m thinking it’s that I like the original version’s instrumental breakdown, and I’m not crazy about this song’s drops. Still, it’s a nice end to the album overall.
Overall, I didn’t know what to expect, but I really enjoyed this album! U2 shows me on this album that they can maintain a strong balance between their older, established sound, and a more modern, “current” sound, and I think they nicely re-established their musical relevance, if it was ever gone before. Beyond the sonic, instrumental merits of the record, I also really love the layered lyrics and Bono’s vocals throughout the songs on this record. And even if there were a few not-so-memorable hooks on one or two of the songs on here, the songs with good hooks were very memorable. This one might polarize some critics, U2 fans, and general music lovers, but for me, this was an album I had a lot of fun with, and I’m glad I gave it a listen.
I’m probably in the minority on this one, though.
Favorite tracks: Lights of Home, You’re the Best Thing About Me, Summer of Love, The Little Things That Give You Away, The Blackout, Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way, 13 (There Is A Light)
Least favorite tracks: The Showman (Little More Better)
Rating: Excellent (yes, strike me down for that)
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