Once upon a time, U2 tried to make dance music. After successfully reinventing themselves as ironic aesthetes on Achtung Baby and Zooropa, the band steered all the way into the late-’90s electronica hype wave on their 1997 album Pop, though the results were not what they originally intended. U2 quickly abandoned that aesthetic path, leaning into classic sounds and their elder-statesman status on later records. It is therefore quite interesting to hear U2 teaming up with the Dutch DJ and producer Martin Garrix now—not just after the electronica era became a distant memory, but also after the boom of festival-ready EDM that Garrix represents has become old news.
U2 has been remarkably active recently, releasing a flurry of new music. Earlier this year, the legendary band released two surprise EPs, Days Of Ash and Easter Lily. Garrix produced the Easter Lily track “Scars,” continuing a professional relationship that began in 2021 when the duo worked with Bono and The Edge on “We Are The People,” the official theme song for the UEFA European Football Championship. Earlier this month, U2 dropped “Street Of Dreams,” and The Edge appeared onstage during Garrix’s set at the Tomorrowland festival to debut their new collaboration, “Fireflies.” It is worth noting that this is not an Owl City cover.
“Fireflies” is not quite U2’s attempt at a massive crossover anthem like “A Sky Full Of Stars.” Instead, it functions more as a mood-piece, with the festival-EDM touches proving to be a little subtler than one might expect. At times, it sounds as though U2 is actively seeking out new ways to experiment with overproduced textures. The Auto-Tune on Bono’s voice is particularly prominent, and the familiar chime of The Edge’s guitar serves to underline how much modern formulaic music has been built on his sonic blueprint.
“Fireflies” is out now on Darkroom.
