Hours before the opening night of their U2:UV shows at Sphere in Las Vegas, U2 released a brand new track, “Atomic City.”
“Atomic City” is a three-and-a-half-minute track that pays homage to “the magnetic spirit of the 1970s post-punk era with a nod to Blondie, whose pioneering work with Giorgio Moroder inspired and influenced the band.” (You can watch the music video below.)
“It’s a love song to our audience,” Bono said about the track, adding, “’Where you are is where I’ll be.’”
The title of the song carries additional significance. In the 1950s, Las Vegas wasn’t known as “Sin City.” It was instead known as “Atomic City.”
It was a time when nuclear fascination swept the nation, and the city promoted itself as a center of atomic tourism due to its proximity to the Nevada Test Site. Mushroom clouds could be seen in the distance from the Las Vegas strip.
Produced by Jacknife Lee and Steve Lillywhite, the band recorded “Atomic City” at Sound City in Los Angeles.
The single came just ahead of the band’s run of Las Vegas dates — a celebration of their seminal 1991 album Achtung Baby in the massive, state-of-the-art multimedia Sphere.
Watch the music video for “Atomic City”
Ben Kutchins directed the ‘”Atomic City” video, with creative direction by Tarik Mikou of Moment Factory Music. The video captures U2’s late-night surprise performance of the track on Fremont Street last week in downtown Las Vegas.
It’s also the same location where the band filmed the video for “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
“Atomic City” is available as a digital single in Standard audio, HD audio, and also in Spatial/Atmos; and as a Limited Edition 7-inch Vinyl and Limited Edition CD single.
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Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley is the Editor-in-Chief of Eulalie Magazine. Favorite Movies: Sunset Boulevard, Garden State, Modern Times. Favorite TV Shows: Gilmore Girls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Grey's Anatomy. Favorite Books: Interview with the Vampire, Dracula, City of Glass.
