Watch U2’s New Video for ‘American Soul’
U2 have released a video for their track “American Soul” from last year’s album Songs of Experience. You can watch the promo clip, based on a live performance with an added animated appearance from collaborator Kendrick Lamar, below.
The follow-up to 2014’s Songs of Innocence endured a difficult journey to completion. The band thought it was ready for release in 2016, but then decided it needed reworked because the political climate had changed in the interim period. Guitarist The Edge confirmed that the 2016 election of U.S. President Donald Trump had played a role, saying: “We just went, ‘Hold on a second – we’ve got to think about this record and how it relates to what’s going on in the world,’” he said. “Most of it was written in the early part of 2016, and now, as I think you’d agree, the world is a different place.”
Frontman Bono argued that the “emotional temperature us up about 25 percent” as a result of political upheaval. He added: “There’s a couple of reasons why we delayed Songs of Experience. We nearly lost the European Union, something that has helped keep the peace in our region for nearly 70 years.” Confirming that direct references to Trump could be found in his lyrics, he continued: “It is a little bit of a departure, as I’ve always believed in working across the aisle as an anti-poverty activist. But this isn’t a matter or right or left. There’s a bully in the pulpit and silence is not an option.”
U2 launch a U.S. tour on May 2 in Tulsa, OK. which runs until Jul. 1 in New York City. It’s followed by further dates across Europe and the U.K. running from Aug. 31 to Nov. 10.