U2
No Line On The Horizon

From the very first listen, you understand that the Unforgettable Fire hasn't extinguished... and indeed, it has returned to burn majestically like it hadn't for years.

This new work from the four boys from Dublin marks a double turning point: both in terms of sound and composition. The atmosphere of this album is that of extreme and remote places both in time and space, whose boundaries are vague and undefined... often they have the tones of the guitar of an Edge more inspired than ever, like an impressionist painter, he enjoys spreading from his strings brushstrokes of notes that reach the soul and captivate for their beauty, sometimes they blend with the background as in the title track alongside the velvety layers of keyboards that Lanois and Eno manage to weave as only they know how.

The beginning ("No Line on the Horizon") has the rhythm and tension of a race like a frantic search, an unusual progression that measures the sound change and which some synth notes in the end manage only to ease, with the marks of time that Bono's voice reveals climbing dangerously on the higher notes (Fez-Being Born) and at the same time sketching and telling us in a low voice, wonderful images as in "White as Snow" and "Cedars of Lebanon", the latter a true gem that brings us back to the magic of works like "If You Wear that velvet dress" in short, an epic album closure.

Tracks like "Moment of Surrender" are almost a gospel with layers of keyboards and synths that abstract us from any spatial dimension almost to the point of floating like pure spirit, with an ever-expanding breath that the chorus of the refrain emphasizes, an emotional tension also found in "Fez-Being Born", a track with a top-notch percussive groove and almost 2 minutes of intro of just music... in short, music and melody have finally returned to the forefront and more than the refrains, these atmospheres are what captivate about this album. Even the catchiness of tracks more in U2's style like "Magnificent", "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" or the beautiful "Unknown Caller" is enriched by a sonic search and arrangements that manage to enrich the tracks with new suggestions without ever overburdening them. This new vigor also benefits the Rock side of U2's music with tracks like "Stand Up Comedy" and the powerful "Breathe" sounding fresher and more authentic or something very far from stuff like "Vertigo" and "Elevation".

The only discordant note is the first single. In all honesty, the choice of "Get On Your Boots" as the first single is, ultimately, to be interpreted as an act of faith that the band wanted to subject its fans to (and not only them), I also add that this song has very little to do with the rest of the album not only in terms of atmosphere but also in terms of pure and simple quality, in short, they decided to release as the first single a track that is not only the worst of the album but that is not even worthy of being part of it... Mystery of faith!

Ultimately, the best U2 album since the days of "Pop" and maybe even beyond.