Written by Anthony Nguyen
December 23, 2005

"New Year's Day" remains my favorite track from the arena rock Gods, U2. This some came in an era where music progressively changed from disco to punk to new wave in a matter of only a few years. And while U2 has always been known for pop songs such as "With or Without You", the early 80's displayed a younger U2. They hadn't defined their style fully yet and were just playing raw intense music. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was a wonderful song with a dancier beat, but "New Year's Day" was powerful.

The riffs that the EDGE throws down are as "edgy" as ever. Bono's wails are youthful and show stronger emotion than most all other U2 songs, and the blending of voices in the chorus are harmonized through strong lyrics and great layering work. And all can not go without saying how wonderful the beat of the music is. I remember hearing this song in a mix tape from Club Eau, where a young Armin Van Buuren opened up his January 6th, 2001 set with this song. I was thinking, "wow! this song sounds great!" I never realized how rock music could be such a dancing experience, but Van Buuren proved me wrong. "New Year's Day" not only worked well because it was the start of a new year, but it worked because the drum beat was intensely strong and wickedly tight.