SOE
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U2 - Songs Of Experience (2017)
 Tracks: 14
  1. Originally posted by Jinx4:While I was wishing for something more angry and experimental.. it is hard to resist the hooks, melodies and songs that this collection has given us.

    exactly.
  2. Yeah, I've definitely already found myself singing along with like half the album. (God, the "Free yourself to be yourself / if only you could see yourself" bit at the end of Lights of Home is infectious. Showman is hard not to sing along with, too.)
  3. Have anyone seen Spotify's ''Rock This'' playlist?

    I think there will be a Spotify Live session soon!
  4. Wow, even after reading all the positive opinions on here over the past few days, I still found myself very pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this record even from my first listen! Going in, I thought "there's no way an album with American Soul and The Blackout on it can be better than SOI" but, while it's still early, I think there's a possibility that I might like SOE more. It's interesting because I feel like most of the songs U2 have put out in their career have been growers and it takes time for me to be convinced (even with some songs that ended up becoming favorites of mine) but I found myself really enjoying this album from my first listen. I was especially surprised with how much I liked Landlady right off the bat. I fell in love with that song at first listen, definitely my favorite track so far.

    The stretch of songs from SOL through Landlady is so great. The best sequence of songs on a U2 record in decades as far as I'm concerned. I find myself revisiting this section of the album a lot.

    I was also kind of surprised with how (for lack of a better word) gentle this album feels. Putting aside American Soul and The Blackout, even the more upbeat "rockers" in the tracklist (LOH, RFD) have this kind of laid-back breeziness to them them I quite enjoy. I'm glad they (mostly) didn't try force some heavier songs into the record that would have ended up feeling out of place anyway, just because they felt like they needed those kinds of songs (like they did with NLOTH). I feel like it gives this album a unique and interesting vibe (although I also get strong HTDAAB vibes from this record, for reasons I can't quite explain. Anyone else?).

    But this also makes me really curious to see what songs they'll end up playing live. Other than the singles and Little Things (and probably RFD too, but I've been wrong before with what songs I thought were shoe-ins) I don't think there are any songs that really stand out as being obvious to make the cut for the setlist.

    Anyway, I'm really glad the band was able to pull out another great record and that they were able to surprise so much with this release. It's a little early to tell where it ranks amongst their past work, but for now I'm enjoying it very much.

    I'm also glad most people seem to be enjoying the record as well. There's been a lot of negativity about everything the band does around here for a while, so it's nice to see us all enjoying something again.

  5. Repeated listens remind me of nothing so much as No Line- keeps revealing treasures with repeated listens. Where SOI got meandering and plodding in some places... SOE feels like a proper ALBUM. I agree that I wasn’t expecting this, but I’m so pleasantly surprised that they had it in them.

    SOE feels raw and vulnerable in ways that get to my heart. Where SOI felt like a couple of strong songs and a lot of... vignettes.
  6. Someone on youtube about The Blackout:

    "Man, if someone like Jack White put this song out people would be fucking beside themselves with that bass/guitar riff. U2 slaps their name on it and no one gives a shit. What's wrong with the world."

    So true. Makes me wonder what would happen if U2 released music under a pseudonym and somehow managed to mask Bono's voice.
  7. Passengers II: Return Of The Devil Guy
  8. Originally posted by Jinx4:I did not know they had it in them. This is a great record and I think they succeeded at what they set out to do music wise, production wise, and lyrically - very well done! While I was wishing for something more angry and experimental.. it is hard to resist the hooks, melodies and songs that this collection has given us. Even more excited about the tour!

    I think this album has a lot of experimental tracks (SOL, Book of Your Heart, even Lights of Home) and while not explicit anger (as in songs like Please), it still contains dark, meditative passages. We cannot call an album "entirely of poppy songs" when there's one song about refugees dying in the middle of the sea without making news, a gardener growing flowers in Aleppo only to be bombed later, or a song where Bono directly confronts Jesus and asks "what the hell you got for me?".
    If anything, SOE is not as in-your-face as other U2 records where they have a song titled Love and Peace or Else and you start rolling your eyes immediately. (sorry Alvin)
  9. Newbie here. Have been lurking on the forum for a while. I love the new album. Surprised that Book Of Your Heart is a bonus track. It is currently my favorite. Given the variety of songs on the album, I think it would have fit nicely in the standard edition of the album. Hope this song will be played at some point on the tour.

    My second favorite would be The Little Things. A very emotional song that brings tears to my eyes.
    Other favorites are Get Out of Your Own Way, Lights of Home (both versions), and Love is Bigger (would really work as the last song on the setlist of the upcoming tour--very uplifting). I also really enjoy the energy in The Blackout and American Soul. Great tracks.

    You are the Best thing has really grown on me. I am still not sure about Showman and Landlady. Maybe they will grow on me after some more listens.

    Songs of Experience is a great album. I can't wait to see it played live.
  10. Originally posted by cesar_garza01:[..]

    I think this album has a lot of experimental tracks (SOL, Book of Your Heart, even Lights of Home) and while not explicit anger (as in songs like Please), it still contains dark, meditative passages. We cannot call an album "entirely of poppy songs" when there's one song about refugees dying in the middle of the sea without making news, a gardener growing flowers in Aleppo only to be bombed later, or a song where Bono directly confronts Jesus and asks "what the hell you got for me?".
    If anything, SOE is not as in-your-face as other U2 records where they have a song titled Love and Peace or Else and you start rolling your eyes immediately. (sorry Alvin)
    What? I don't like Atomic Bomb, but LAPOE is only really great song from it
    And love SOE...
  11. I do think the album is light. You can have strong lyrics but the music has to convey it as well. Its more atmospheric and I can tell formatted for the young adult kiss radio stations. Im growing more fond of some tracks but still think its safe rock. No boundaries, sonically or lyrically are getting pushed here.
  12. Regardless of what I think about LAPOE ( ), my point was that this time Bono didn't label their tracks: Syria's Civil War or Refugees Drowning. Hell, I thought Red Flag Day was about something else (more on the article we're preparing), so the heavy themes were presented very subtlety in SOE and focusing on individuals, not on big statements, as Bono loved circa 2000-2006.
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