U2 is desperately trying to stay relevant way past their expiration date. They have mind boggling wealth.and a guitar player, who was incredibly lucky to be in the right place at the right time. And knew how to use guitar efx. because he sure as schitt cannot play.
Soon they will find their groove yet continue to pull in obscene dollars on the Vegas circuit just like the stones did/do. The glimmer twins realized decades ago, why write anymore because people pay big for the old hits. for them it works, and works well. i do not know if U2's catalog can produce the same same results with their fans now getting long in the tooth.Earlier, This summers European stones tour had a large percentage of very young new fans. Everyone is more than happy to put down mega bucks to see a 71 year old jagger sing get off my cloud. Any new tunes from them would have just signaled a mass pee break for the crowd. Their business model works and works well. Play the war horses, get off stage and count the money. Everyone goes home very happy. fans included.
Bono, needs to realize, he is not going to change the world. His, sunglass style needs to be shelved. he looks like a clown now. he needs to have a cup of tea with Jagger and ask for the blueprints. And take what he can get which is still substantial. Play the old hits, and it is still not to late to find a guitar player that can play a simple three chord progression instead of the Edge's even more limiting two chord tunes with tremolo.