U2- No Line On The Horizon

Written for the Enloe High School Newspaper. May 2009.

Ireland's most powerful export released their eleventh album in March, and was immediately subjected to much praise from critics and fans alike. Rolling Stone gave it five stars (out of five) and declared it their to best album since 1991's "Achtung Baby", a fusion of "the spiritual uplift of their Eighties work with the future-shock sonics of their Nineties albums." Recorded in studios in London, Dublin, France, New York, and an outdoor courtyard in Fez, Morocco (birds can be heard all over the album), "No Line On The Horizon" has something to please most listeners- fans of U2's last album, "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb", will probably think of "Vertigo" when listening to "Put On Your Boots", a silly, tongue-in-cheek rockstar-meets-girl song. The gorgeous "Magnificent" starts with a crescendo of electronica sample, then explodes into an onslaught of delay-heavy guitar masterfully executed by guitarist The Edge, and soaring vocals provided by singer Bono. The overall effect sounds like a bigger, louder cousin of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". Bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. have their shining moment on the polyrhythmic title track. U2 also has a few soft, haunting ballads on their latest album, the best of them the beautiful "Moment of Surrender".
"No Line On The Horizon" once again states that U2 is here to stay, and is sure to please both hardcore fans of the band and total newcomers. If you haven't had a chance to "get into" U2, now's the time; they're coming to Raleigh in October. (Remember, I wrote this in 2009. This was the second time U2 EVER came to the Triangle, the first being at Kenan Stadium at UNC Chapel Hill in the early eighties. The 2009 concert was opened by Muse, an excellent concert all around.- Justin)