There will always be tons of buzz generated whenever U2 does anything, let alone release their first album since 2004 (It has been five years already?!). When I saw that the whole album was streaming up on Myspace, I was tempted to see if all the hype was real. I am glad I waited to actually drive to the store, buy the CD and wrestle with the packaging. The first single, "Get On Your Boots" was already starting to get a bit tiring, but CD quality blew away anything I heard previously streamed online, revealing lots of nuance.
Starting in 2000 with All That You Can't Leave Behind, through How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, up to No Line on the Horizon, it's amazing how each album sounds different, yet remain unmistakably U2. Off the bat, No Line on the Horizon has more in common with All That You Can't Leave Behind with its slower pace. After trying to fit as many "U2-ish" arena songs into the last album, No Line on the Horizon is much more roomy, but don't take that as simple. There is lots of nuance in this album, most from the drumming of the band's rock Larry Mullen Jr. Though the tempo has slowed on this album, it doesn't mean the music is softer. Melodies and rythyms are allowed to expand, fill up space an envelope the room. Just when you think they are going to build up into a huge anthemic chorus, U2 tempers the pace before returning. It's an album that requires one to stop, sit down and just listen.
No Line on the Horizon might not be as good as U2's most recent albums, but it's guaranteed to be another hit. It's apparent they are pacing themselves so they don't jump the shark (yet again) on their latest resurgance. I'm sure as they tour, they will pour new life into these songs and have people wishing that what they just heard live was what on the album.
