Fans of Irish rock band U2 have had to wait the longest time ever between album releases. So, when their new album No Line on the Horizon came out on Tuesday, the rock world breathed a huge sigh of relief.
After initially beginning work in 2006, then scrapping that in pursuit of a new sound, fans had reason to feel uneasy about what Bono, The Edge, Larry, and Adam would come out with next. Although the reports of this album containing elements of a trance genre turned out to be true, particularly in the song “Cedars of Lebanon”, most of the songs still contain the classic U2. I found the smooth sounds of an Edge-style guitar work truly refreshing.
The title track has a bit of edge to it, yet still sends the hippie-like message that life has no concrete line, no limit or set precedent. In fact, many songs from this album mix usually entrancing thoughts with the solid, hard core rock sounds U2 is commonly known for.
The song the album is known best for is a pop-rock sounding tune titled “Get On Your Boots”. This is the song U2 used to kick off the Grammy Awards last month, and has achieved praise in the United Kingdom. On a special edition of DJ Jo Whiley’s show, aired on the BBC’s Radio 1 last Friday, in which the band performed live, Bono explained the background of the first single to come off this album. He said it was about enjoying the summer while the Iraq War was going on, and that time was a great time to want to love, to be in love, and forget about everything going on. This particularly explains the lyrics “I don’t want to talk about wars between nations”.
Another song that could rise as a later hit is “Breathe”. It is an uplifting song, highlighting how there are so many things to worry about in the world, but knowing that the days we live in can be better. It seems Bono, who is accredited with writing the lyrics, points out the fact that if we can breathe, we can do something about what is going on.
Overall, the album is more of a relief for fans than a revolutionary new album taking the band to new heights. Sure, the band is already one of the most famous in the world, but this latest work is only just enough to keep their increasingly loyal following happy.
And they will be thankful the ‘new sound’ used for these songs is not too far away from the one produced by the four Irish men they fell in love with in the past. It is also worthy to note that the album songs likely to be most popular should sound incredible when performed live, which is the best place to experience the true U2.
In the end, it is not a bad buy. For those new to U2, I suggest looking up older albums, like “Achtung Baby”, “The Joshua Tree”, and even the one previous to this, “How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb” before diving into “No Line on the Horizon”.