No Line on the Horizon captures the essence and tone of U2’s greatest hits in all new material. It is a true culmination of their body of work. The album is amazing because it possesses familiar elements accumulated throughout their twelve-album history, as well as new elements of arrangement that augment and enhance their branded sound. No Line on the Horizon is a finite musical statement of where they have been and how it has informed them into making them who they are today.
A sonic wall opens the album with Achtung Baby like fervor on the title track. Immediately followed by appropriately titled “Magnificent,” highlighted by lead guitar chorus fills that hearken back to The Unforgettable Fire. The single “Get on Your Boots” has an infectious Escape Club-like groove that is could easily been found on their last offering How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. While “I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” is stuck in a moment of a contemplative action similarly found on All You Can’t Leave Behind.
However there are definite signs of where the band is heading toward in the future. “Fez- Being Born,” a meditation on the transformative state of traveling, is infused with an expansive combination of styles; opening with a fluid trance vibe that diminishes only to emerge with an “In God’s Country” rhythm attack “Stand Up Comedy” features Adam Clayton and Larry Mullin Jr. locked down in a funkadelic sass groove, giving freedom to Bono to scat on empowerment. While “Moment of Surrender” and “Unknown Caller” have subtle foundations of electronic percussive programming that amicably support The Edge’s superb chorus and reverb licks, delivering a timeless, yet progressive sound.
Thematically the album preaches the messages hope and the choice to love. With the recurring images of hills, mountains, land, sea they affirm our capacity to scale and overcome them anew (“…and again I’m reborn/ Every day I have to find the courage with arms out” (“Breathe”). Serving as a reminder that we all possess the will to surpass boundaries.
It is truly amazing that U2 is able to cover the spectrum of their progressive life as a band and maintain a definitive sound that is identifiably their own.
Aaron Simms
A sonic wall opens the album with Achtung Baby like fervor on the title track. Immediately followed by appropriately titled “Magnificent,” highlighted by lead guitar chorus fills that hearken back to The Unforgettable Fire. The single “Get on Your Boots” has an infectious Escape Club-like groove that is could easily been found on their last offering How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. While “I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” is stuck in a moment of a contemplative action similarly found on All You Can’t Leave Behind.
However there are definite signs of where the band is heading toward in the future. “Fez- Being Born,” a meditation on the transformative state of traveling, is infused with an expansive combination of styles; opening with a fluid trance vibe that diminishes only to emerge with an “In God’s Country” rhythm attack “Stand Up Comedy” features Adam Clayton and Larry Mullin Jr. locked down in a funkadelic sass groove, giving freedom to Bono to scat on empowerment. While “Moment of Surrender” and “Unknown Caller” have subtle foundations of electronic percussive programming that amicably support The Edge’s superb chorus and reverb licks, delivering a timeless, yet progressive sound.
Thematically the album preaches the messages hope and the choice to love. With the recurring images of hills, mountains, land, sea they affirm our capacity to scale and overcome them anew (“…and again I’m reborn/ Every day I have to find the courage with arms out” (“Breathe”). Serving as a reminder that we all possess the will to surpass boundaries.
It is truly amazing that U2 is able to cover the spectrum of their progressive life as a band and maintain a definitive sound that is identifiably their own.
Aaron Simms
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