Five years after releasing “How to Build an Atomic Bomb,” Irish rock band U2 is back with their latest album, “No Line on The Horizon.” The album marks a continuation of the bands’ 2000 pledge to become the best band in the world. After the tremendous success of “All that You Can’t Leave Behind” in 2000 and “How to Build an Atomic Bomb” in 2004, the band continues to focus largely on rock combined with hints of their earlier 90’s experimentation. This method has paid off, as the last two albums have won 15 Grammy Awards combined. This already seems to cement the band as the best in the world, yet they’re not finished yet.
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U2 |  Entertainment
Art
“No Line On The Horizon”
(Interscope)
Released March 3, 2009
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The band began working on their new album in 2006 with producer Rick Rubin. These sessions produced "The Saints Are Coming" and "Window in the Skies" which eventually appeared on a greatest hits album entitled, 18 Singles. The band went back in the studio in 2007, this time with returning producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. Steve Lilywhite also joined in as producer in 2007, and the band began writing and recording during the summer in Fez, Morocco. Interestingly, Bono stated that he grew tired of writing in the first person and decided to write in character for some of the tracks; namely as a traffic cop, a soldier and a junkie among others. While the group apparently wrote dozens of songs, they eventually narrowed it down to 11 songs for this album.
At first glance, the album seemed to be at a rocky start. Their performance of “Get on Your Boots,” at the Grammy Awards wasn‘t exactly awe-inspiring, and some of the track titles are quite lame, particularly “I’ll go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight.” Nevertheless, the album as a whole sounds solid. “No Line on The Horizon” carries a good balance of upbeat rock, sprawling musical pieces and warm melodies. The Edge’s signature guitar sound weighs heavily throughout the album, especially on tracks like “Unknown Caller” and “Magnificent.” Brian Eno contributes his customary synthesizer on several tracks along with Daniel Lanois laying his hands on “White as Snow,” “Cedars of Lebanon,” “Magnificent,” and several others. Since Eno, Lanois and Lilywhite contribute to most of the album, the majority of the tracks are quite layered. The tracks are heavy on synthesizers, drum machines, organs and keyboards. We could have had a more bare bones sound if U2 stuck with Rick Rubin, but the layers sound great here. It takes a few rounds of listening to the album to really start enjoying it. “No Line on the Horizon,” sounds like an album meant to grow on you, showing you something new each time you listen to it.
Bono’s technique of writing from the perspective of different characters shows an interesting approach to spreading a message. Bono puts us in the shoes of his characters, a trick which makes some of the stories seem more real. In “Cedars of Lebanon,” we see the through the eyes of a war reporter. On “Moment of Surrender” and “Unknown Caller,” we see through the eyes of a drug addict. Or on “White as Snow,” we see through the eyes of a soldier serving in Afghanistan. Maybe Bono was bored or just couldn’t write about himself any longer (at least for this album),but this approach makes it easier to visualize some of the struggles going on in the world.
“No Line on the Horizon,“ might not be U2’s greatest album, but it definitely ranks up there with their better catalog of work. Standout songs include the title track “No Line…”, “Magnificent,” “Unknown Caller,” “Fez-Being Born,” “White as Snow,” “Breath” and “Cedars of Lebanon.” Like I said before, this is a type of album meant to grow on you. It might sound better with each listen, and it may surprise you by its many layers. These types of albums are often the most enduring, so only time will tell if this album can be considered truly great.
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