Music Review: U2

Fourteen albums deep and with rock in recession, Bono Inc. find themselves in the rare position of fighting for relevancy.

Cue the sound of four men aided by no less than nine producers, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and one half of The Chainsmokers, gleefully cavorting around The Joshua Tree attempting to — for better or worse — recapture the bombastic sincerity of their ’80s output.

Skyscraping guitars and platitudes abound as Bono attempts to articulate every known human desire into wide-eyed, yet banal, paeans to positivity ("Nothing to stop this being the best day ever").

Bound to satisfy the die-hards.

• U2. Songs of Experience. Island Records. 

• ★★★ (out of five)

Single download: Lights of Home
For those who like: Vintage U2, gargantuan stadium rock 

— John Hayden

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