"Landlady" (2015)
Demo Song
Background Information
“Landlady” is a song that was in development for the album Songs of Experience.
In a year end issue of Q Magazine (February 2016 issue, released December 2015) there was a preview of upcoming music for 2016, including a one page article on U2. The article draws from other sources and previous interviews, but there is also some new content including a discussion with Adam Clayton and some new information about the songs U2 had been working on.
Last year, Bono played Q four new songs in various states of completion, “Instrument Flying” had a sleek, motorik quality. “The Little Things That Give You Away” was vibrantly anthemic; “Much More Better” was a deeply personal acoustic demo about Bono’s recovery from his bike accident; and the tense, heavy “Civilisation” sounded like a surefire album opener. Bono described Larry Mullen’s colossal drum roll in the middle of the song as “my favorite bit on a U2 album in years.” He also previewed an untitled, riff-heavy song related to Songs of Innocence’s “Volcano,” mentioned the titles “Landlady” and “Where the Shadows Fall,” and said that the producers so far included Slaves’ producer Jolyon Thomas and Andy Barlow of electronic duo Lamb. Elsewhere, he has talked about songs called “Red Flag Day” and “Get Out of Your Own Way.”
The song “Landlady” may appear on the album Songs of Experience.