No Hope For U2 On Horizon

No Line On The Horizon

Interscope/Universal

Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

03/02/2009 3:55pm

It seemed like there was a time when U2 could do no wrong. About nine years ago, when All That You Can't Leave Behind redeemed them from the disastrous electronica and disco experiments of 1997's Pop, it felt like they really had the answers to the world's problems. A year after All That You Can't Leave Behind came out, the U.S. was attacked, and the world needed Bono's earnestness again because it needed something to believe in.

But nearly 10 years have passed, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone (other than U2 diehards, of course) who doesn't see Bono's activism and political sloganeering as horribly clichéd. The world is now an immeasurably different place, and Bono even recently said he was sick of himself and needed reinvention. It probably doesn't help that Coldplay are now the world's biggest band and Barack Obama took over where U2 left off.

It's not surprising, then, that U2 say they've tried to inject a bit more of a "modern" sound into No Line On The Horizon, which The Edge said was influenced by Jack White. (Shouldn't it be the other way around?) But No Line On The Horizon comes across as — surprise, surprise — typical U2, and a poor version, at that.

It's no surprise that the title track and album opener contains soaring choruses, vaguely angular Edge guitar riffs and a ringing piano melody in the pre-chorus that's so obvious that it's almost offensive. It's a decent opener, though, even if it makes them come across as a pale imitation of themselves.

"Magnificent" opens with a vaguely Led Zeppelin-ish guitar chord. But then, for some reason, it adopts electronic elements like sampled drums, percussion and a terrible synthesizer riff fit for a Depeche Mode record. It then blasts back into full-on U2 mode with tiresome lyrics like "Only love could leave such a scar" before the title is repeated over and over. It's perhaps telling that U2's "experimentation" only ends with them sounding like their typical selves.

There's the obligatory Christianity reference on "Moment Of Surrender" when Bono sings, "I was speeding on the subway through the stations of the cross." Even though it's a typical Bono-ism, it provides a brief look into why he used to be a brilliant lyricist. It's quite the witty quip, since it refers to a Catholic ritual and London's many "Cross" tube stations (ie: Charing Cross, etc.).

"Get On Your Boots" may not be the most cerebral or well-thought-out track U2 have ever recorded. Its chorus is practically as vacuous as "Discotheque," but at least it's a bit different from most of the songs on No Line On The Horizon. That said, ripping off the drum patterns to Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks" isn't exactly the brightest move.

"Stand Up Comedy," which the band spent 16 months working on, has a bluesier intro riff. It's an enjoyable song, but U2 get lost in the same stale formula that makes the song sound like a cliché, especially when Bono sings "Come on ye people, stand up for your love!"

It's once you reach the last three tracks that things finally start to get interesting. "White As Snow" begins with delicate piano and a quiet, finger-picked electric guitar. You'd think it would explode into some soaring melody, all "Bad" style, but it doesn't — and that's what makes it so enjoyable. It's a shot of something different in a sea of sameness.

Similarly, "Cedars Of Lebanon," in which Bono pictures himself as a newspaper war correspondent, may actually be one of the most imaginative tracks U2 have ever recorded. Sure, the music isn't particularly interesting, but its setting demonstrates an ability to think outside the box. It's a shame this couldn't extend to the rest of No Line On The Horizon.

Most bands develop a signature sound throughout their career, and it's a bit silly to call out a band for sounding like themselves when they're 30-plus years into a career. But there's a problem when things stop sounding original and start sounding forced. U2, as Bono once sang, are stuck in a moment and can't get out of it. If U2 wanted No Line On The Horizon to be the album that reinvented them, this isn't it.

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