Bono says next U2 album will be "An unreasonable guitar record"

Bono has said that U2’s next album will be “an unreasonable guitar record”.

In a recent interview, he added that it will also be rife with “big choruses”. The statements come a year after he cited AC/DC as influences on U2’s next project.

"I announced it, without discussion, as ‘an unreasonable guitar record’. And Edge called me up and goes, ‘How unreasonable?’ And I said, ‘As unreasonable as you’re ready to take it,” Bono told MOJO.

“I don’t think the world is waiting on the next U2 album,” he added. “I think we have to give them a reason to be interested in it. I just want to write great tunes, because that’s where U2 started – with big choruses, clear ideas.”

“We are turning the amps on. I certainly think the rock that we all grew up with as 16 and 17-year-olds, that rawness of those Patti Smith, Iggy Pop records… that kind of power is something we would love to connect back into,” supplemented bassist Adam Clayton.

In another recent interview with Zane Lowe, the band said that they have some “amazing new songs” in the works.

“There’s a lot that we have ready and some that need a little dusting off, but will be ready soon. I tell you, we’ve got some amazing new songs. Really exciting,” said The Edge.

“Edge has about 100 in the bag,” noted Bono. “I have about 20… but Adam’s got something to contribute.”

“If not, U2 should just fuck off. Go live on an island, or go away and be a nuisance somewhere in the world. But if we want to continue as a band, it’s only about one thing. It’s about the text, it’s about the tunes, it’s about the performance. It’s about whether you believe us or not.

“The fight is for our future. It’s love versus luck,” he continued. “But that’s what our band is built around. It’s not just friendship. We overuse the word ‘love’ like The Beatles did. And you’re either… it’s like, ‘Whoa, back off’. Because it’s a lazy word to use unless it has meaning.

“And if it doesn’t have meaning within the band, then it’s not going to have meaning outside of the band. So this is the time when if people have lost their love, they should fuck off. Including me.

“If you don’t love music, it’s your time to fuck off.”

U2 are currently undergoing their much-documented Las Vegas residency at The MSG Sphere. Read Pat Carty’s first-hand account of the ground-breaking operation from his trip to Sin City here.