Released: 2023

Genres: Acoustic Rock, Piano Rock, Pop Rock

The Musiquarium’s Songs of Surrender Album Score: 4 out of 10

Ever since U2’s critical and commercial comeback with 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind, U2 has been on a downward spiral, continuously destroying their reputation over the next two decades, culminating with the self-aggrandizing Songs of Surrender.

Songs of Surrender is 40 minimalistic, stripped-back acoustic re-recordings of U2 songs spanning from 1980’s Boy to 2017’s Songs of Experience, though none of these songs are superior to the originals; a greatest hits of 40 songs would have been more noble and less self-mythologizing than this ambitious failure of a concept. The Edge’s production is more subtle than whatever Ryan Tedder was doing on their past two albums, but this album is just so boring, especially at nearly three hours long and just makes you yearn to listen to the original versions of these songs instead.

I don’t know which overly-ambitious 2023 album was worse, The Smashing Pumpkins’ 33 songs ATUM or U2’s 40 track Songs of Surrender, all I know is they are both exercises in patience and endurance and that you’d be better off saving your precious time for something more worthwhile. Long before you reach the last song, U2’s Songs of Surrender will have you waving your white flag.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view U2 on Discogs.

Back to the 2023 Album Guide or the U2 Album page

Written by Brett Nippard