U2's new album: first listen

Thu 19th Feb, 2009 in Features

It seemed another rock – œn roll-y thing to check off so I thought, fuck it, I’ll put my hand up to go to one of the first listens organised for U2’s newbie, No Line On The Horizon. With Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Steve Lillywhite working on this one, the mail is that it will be, as we wankers in the press say, – œa return to form/their roots/their signature sound.’ Which it kinda is. However, you can’t be U2 without pulling a few new tricks out of your arse.

The difference between this and then, is, quite obviously, what has gone down since. For example, a cleverly crafted line about war or poverty then seemed deep and meaningful (which it is, don’t get me wrong). But now when you hear Bono sing something like that, it is absolutely impossible to disconnect him from the caricature he’s become and let him be an Irish singer fronting a really good four-piece. I harbour an internal struggle between lover of good music and hacker of tall poppies. Suffice to say, The Edge is still the bomb.

The disclaimer is this: without the usual advantage of Google, lyrics or liner notes to assist my scribbles, it’s a tough gig. Were I to send an album review through to the editor in this state, I would likely receive an auto-generated email reply saying, – œThe recipient has blocked all mail from this address.’ Having surrendered my mobile phone (to prevent illegal recording) and with no chance of listening to the album again before it dropped, my notes made fuck all sense about three minutes after I walked out of the building. See what you reckon.

No Line On The Horizon
Cool, wavering thread throughout yet a total smash in the face. Three plateaus of change; The Edge is exploring. If you made a line on the horizon it would then tilt, waver or erupt.

Magnificent
Rock, rock, rock. Bass drum, guitar intro brings to mind AC/DC. Bono soaring slowly over quicker tempo rock. Excited Girl From Universal bounces in her seat and mouths the words. Awesome crescendo from bridge, builds to stadium burst. Usual Bono wail, outstanding guitar.

Moment Of Surrender
Fluffy electronic drum bubbles (pigeons underwater) and violin/cello strains. Dark, dangerous, seedy piano and bass. Vocals more raw than recent memory. “At the moment of surrender/I’m falling to my knees/I’ve been in every black hole/A vision of invisibility.” Mournful guitar solo, I picture The Edge, his tiny, serious face beneath a tiny, serious beanie. Ends roughly, like a garage band. Good triumph-over-adversity track: wonder which disaster this will become the soundtrack for?

Unknown Caller
Birdsong, guitar on loop, stick tips on cymbal: like waking up camping. Drums develop into jungle beat as Bono falsettos and band builds. Bono goes mental on overdubs, also chanting, “I was lost between midnight and the dawning/Shout it up/Rise up/Escape yourself.” If it was yelled over a different track it might be punk, except punks don’t say “shoosh now”. Church organ refrains, uprising, horns etc. – pretty involved but doesn’t get my heart racing.

I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
Title makes me yawn. “A generation with the chance to change the world” jolts me back to Bono-world. If crazy is a cup of tea and a recliner in front of the fire, then it could happen. Gorgeous Irish-tinged guitar riff lifts it.

Get On Your Boots
The first single. Real live rock song: fucking sick riff, Subterranean Homesick Blues -esque lyric. Foot tapper but Bono’s airy fairy: “I got a submarine/You got gasoline.” Really phat breakdown last third. Great rock riffs, Robert Plant refrain at end.

Stand Up Comedy
Funky if you can fathom it – reference to two towers rudely transfers attention from music to Bono’s causes. “Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady/Stand up for your love/A small child crossing an eight lane highway on a voyage of discovery/I’m a small man with big ideas.” Cringey McCringe-Cringe. – œ70s rock riffs, military drum stanzas, squealing guitars. I quite like it.

FEZ – Being Born
Lush, lush production, murmured incantations, dream sequence with hollowed drums and dark bass. Short circuits into high key guitar, more military snare drills and more banshee activity from Bono. Tsunami of spiralling guitars; can’t begin to imagine how many tracks these four laid in each completed song. Even the most simplistic guitar parts are perfectly matched – The Edge having a ball.

White As Snow
Bling bling pling of supposedly falling snow. Ballad: very simple guitar and drum. Bono voice at absolute forefront for the first time. Production is amazing. “This dry ground bears no fruit at all/The road refuses strangers/As boys we would go hunting in the woods/A heart could be as white as snow.” Lame.

Breathe
Messy intro – love it. Axing guitar part over fat drum line. Difficult, quickly spoken lyric: beat at odds with simple, rock bottom. Bono pulls back in and everyone’s in classic U2 mode. Cool plunky piano and sawing basic cello riffs. The Edge runs with it. Overdubs get the “Ohhhhhs” into the background.

(An aside: what does a room full of listeners look like? Disinterested. Picking alfalfa sprouts off the table in front of them. But for the sound, we could be listening to someone drone on about OH&S.)

Cedars of Lebanon
Cinematic opener enveloping two-finger acoustic. Bono vocal launches out of speakers – bit surprising – cleaner and more focused than previous songs. Happy to muck about with Cohen-y spoken work on stanza lines. Falsetto chorus. “Take your photo from the fridge/I haven’t been with a woman in what feels like years/Head like a lit cigarette/Drinking dirty water from a river bank.” I get the idea, Bono, but especially like the ending: “Choose your enemies wisely, because they will define you.”

U2’s No Line On The Horizon is out Monday 2 March through Universal Music.