"I shouldn't be here because I should be dead" sings
Bono
on "Lights of Home," the second track on
Songs of Experience
, the long-delayed sequel to 2014's
Songs of Innocence
. It's not merely a turn of phrase. Two months after
U2
unleashed
on the world,
injured himself in a bicycle accident so severe he suspected he may never play guitar again. He recovered, but his misfortune derailed plans for the band to wrap up
swiftly, so
decided to take their time. A version of the record neared completion in 2016, but that year's twin elections of Brexit and
Trump
spurred
to revise the album, as they decided they couldn't release a record that didn't address such cataclysmic political events. Retro-conning the existing
material to suit the political climate wasn't the easiest task and the album often shows its seams, particularly when
decides to tackle the crisis head-on: the line "Democracy is flat on its back, Jack" arrives with a thud on "The Blackout," but it's nothing compared to "American Soul," an ode to real America where the singer and the band engage in a battle of hams. "American Soul" also features a line -- and no more -- by
Kendrick Lamar
, the rapper who is on the vanguard of popular music in 2017 (no less of an authority than
David Bowie
cited
Lamar
as an influence on his final album,
Blackstar
). Typical to many modern records,
is the result of many cooks:
Jacknife Lee
and
Ryan Tedder
claim the main production credits, with
Andy Barlow
,
Jolyon Thomas
, and old friend
Steve Lillywhite
responsible for additional production, whatever that may be. With all these hands, it's not much of a surprise that
feels diverse, its modernist moments -- like
embracing pitch-shifted vocals -- counterbalancing feints toward
's arena rock past. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine