This year, Martin Garrix is in the thick of a rollout, chaining collaborations with top-tier artists. First came ‘Repeat It’ with Ed Sheeran; then ‘Bizarre’ with Madonna for her album; and now it’s time for ‘Fireflies’, a track that unites all four members of U2.
Although it is framed as a collaboration between Garrix and the Irish band, ‘Fireflies’ has been simmering for six years. Perhaps for that reason it doesn’t sound particularly contemporary, nor does it try to bring the Dutch DJ’s universe closer to U2’s. Quite the opposite: it feels more like a U2 song produced by Martin Garrix.
One can hear the care put into the production in ‘Fireflies’, for instance in the guitar riffs during the verses, the build toward the chorus, or the subtle autotune that peeks through Bono’s voice. It also works well in its romantic tone, even if it leans on familiar images such as “born for the summer skies / the light that’s in each other’s eyes / fireflies”. It’s a beautiful song.
What is harder to defend is that this collaboration justifies its own existence. If ‘Bizarre’ found an obvious synergy between Garrix and Madonna, in ‘Fireflies’ the clash of two worlds is barely perceptible. The result even recalls the stadium rock of The Temper Trap, self-proclaimed heirs to U2’s sound, giving the curious sense that the band ends up sounding like those who once sounded like it.
Collaborations between artists of such different profiles are usually more interesting when they force both to step out of their comfort zones. One can debate whether Coldplay’s EDM era left more missteps than successes — ‘Something Just Like This’ was terrible — but ‘A Sky Full of Stars’ with Avicii was wonderful. ‘Fireflies’ aims for that magic, but in the end it plays it too safe.
