Bono: U2 are at crossroads
Arguing: Bono
U2 are struggling to choose between four very different albums for their next release, singer Bono admits. And they’re aware they have to be more straightforward with a new record after the relative failure of last year’s offering.
No Line on the Horizon was to be followed with a companion release, Songs of Ascent – but with the comparative disappointment of the 2009 record’s critical reception and sales figures, U2 have had to think again.
Bono tells Rolling Stone: “No Line on the Horizon is not very accessible, lyrically or musically. We put out a really difficult record – I have to admit that. If I was a teenager, it would be like a European movie. It’s arthouse.”
There are a number of options for the follow-up, he explains: “Songs of Ascent, which is the meditative work that was ment to complement No Line on the Horizon. We’ve also got a rock album and a club-sounding album. Then we have the Spider-Man musical stuff.
“We have to decide how we go about releasing them. Do we release them in their groups? We’re not as 21st-century as we think we are. If we were we’d be putting out more new songs online and involving our audience in the choice. Instead we’re sitting here arguing about them while no one else knows about them.”
