Review: No Line On the Horizon

This is probably my most anticipated album of the past two years. U2, along with Rush, are one of my favorite bands, and you can judge that on it's own merit. I'm not a U2 apologist, I don't think everything they touch turns to gold (see 1993-1997), but I do think they happen to be a band unafraid to tinker with thier sound, messing with the particulars, playing around with sounds they like while not changing the core. Think of U2 as Bono and The Edge's hot rod. Going into this album, they happen to be coming out of my second favorite of their efforts, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, which features a very Edge-prominent U2, his guitar melting metal while Bono sings some of the best lyrics of his career. So in essense, my expectations are high. Track by track thoughts after the jump. "No Line on the Horizon" - This first track echoes the expansiveness of the beginning of The Joshua Tree with a blend of the sounds they've been experimenting with lately. Like the sound, but the repeated "oh's" will have to grow on me. Still, a solid opening track. "Magnificent" - Definitely hearing a lot of electronic here, like the kind that weaves in and out of Achtung Baby. This is a good thing. Also like the "only love" repeated lyric. I like this song a lot. Not entirely sure why. Really like the outro-guitar solo on this one. "Moment of Surrender" - A track heavy on the rythym. Could go either way on this song until the chorus, where Bono's shouting vocals open up to more voices. That makes the song. Echoes "Original of the Species," off the previous album, which was one of my favorites on the second half of that album. This is definitely the spiritual U2 showing up on this track. Also I believe this is U2's longest ever album track, beating "Lemon" by about a half minute. "Unknown Caller" - Lots of long intros so far. I like the guitar lines on this track so far. Definitely a comment on modern technology. "Force quit and move to trash." Someone in U2 (Bono?) is a Mac user. The chanting vocals are an interesting chant. Lyrically the themes are from U2's failed 90's efforts, but musically, this is all new. Ohh, another Edge guitar outro. I dig that. "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" - This is a fun song. Interesting lyrics, and nice backing guitar by The Edge. The build up in the first part of the song really pays off nicely in the "Baby, baby,.." section. Nice track. "Get On Your Boots" - I have heard this one a dozen times already, and still amused by the grammatically correct title (No ending in a preposition Mr. Aspiring Jounalist!). The fuzzy guitar here definitely echoes HTDAAB, making this song almost feel out of place in the context of this album. "Stand Up Comedy" - Awesome bassline here. I'm beginning to think this album belongs to Adam Clayton. Really like the guitar line too, come to think of it. I think this is my favorite song on the album so far. "Fez - Being Born" - Definitely the most experimental track so far. Reminds me a lot of "Exit" from The Joshua Tree. Not a standout, but a solid, interesting track. "White as Snow" - A ballad of sorts, interesting vocal arrangement. "Breathe" - Cool song. Looks like Bono really played around with his vocal style for this album. The band is certainly as solid as ever. "Ceders of Lebanon" - Another contemplative track that really rounds out the album thematically. Overall: This is one of those albums whose depth is only revealed over repeated listens. This is not a hit-single-machine album like their last two efforts. Those were rock albums. Not entirely sure, but while this album rocks in places, it does not have the sonic oomph of the last two. The "Window In the Skies" single from 2006 really fits in with this album thematically, as love reigns supreme within this album. It doesn't blow you away sonically, but this is an album with depth to be listened to and revisited. A-