U2

    U2

    Dublin, Ireland21 reviews across 11 releases

    alternative rockpop rockpost-punkrock
    DiscogsWebsiteFacebookInstagram

    U2 is an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1976, after drummer Larry Mullen Jr. posted a notice seeking musicians at Mount Temple School. The group developed from schoolroom post-punk, with treated guitar and searching vocals set against a forceful rhythm section. The 1983 War joined militant drumming to songs that moved from political violence toward inward conflict and religious questioning. The Joshua Tree expanded that attack into a spacious, desert-like rock sound, with spiritual doubt and political anger sharing the same songs. During the 1990s, U2 turned toward electronic textures and dance rhythms, using irony and stage-sized alter egos to distance itself from its earlier image. By 2000, All That You Can't Leave Behind marked a return to comparatively direct songwriting: polished rock and pop arrangements carried grief, faith, and hope without abandoning ambiguity.

    In 2014, Apple placed Songs of Innocence in the libraries of more than half a billion iTunes users, an unprecedented release that also brought criticism over the lack of consent. U2 continued touring through the 2000s and 2010s, including the large-scale 360 Tour and anniversary performances of The Joshua Tree. The band revisited its older material in 2023 with Songs of Surrender, a collection of forty newly recorded arrangements curated by The Edge. Later that year U2 began a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas, adapting the concert around the venue's immersive screen and sound system; the run ended on March 2, 2024, after forty shows. Bono continued solo work during this period, while U2 remained a working band rather than a concluded act.

    11 releases reviewed