U2’s weak choruses are a problem that has plagued the band throughout the decade, and on no line on the horizon, not much has changed. there are a few exceptions though, like the gospel-tinged “moment of surrender” which carries much of the emotional weight of the album and does so with some success; “unknown caller,” a song with a staccato sing-a-long chorus that echoes david bowie’s cover of “white light/white heat;” and “breathe,” the most driving, uplifting song on the album, offering a chorus that is an exhilarating moment of relief.
still, U2 fuck up more good songs than they should. the album opener and title track of no line on the horizon has a whirlwind of a verse that took me completely off guard: bono`s vocal performance is unhinged, and is supported by a rolling drum beat, phasing keys and a nurturing bass line that come together quite well— until the clunker of a refrain comes in and instantly recalls “vertigo” by overtaking the song and practically ruining it. i didn’t care for “vertigo” at all until trent reznor remixed it and took the emphasis off of the throwaway chorus and placed it on the rather strong lyric: “i can feel your love teaching me how.” “no line on the horizon” would really benefit from reznor’s scissors in the same way.
similarly, this chorus problem translates to a much larger scale, in that U2 have a very difficult time suspending disbelief in the listener for a sustained period of time; as much as i want to believe in what bono is singing, i can’t for very long because something usually throws me off. essentially the album documents a shift from darkness to light, and while bono often finds unique ways to communicate this to the listener, he still relies a bit too much on cliché to make that happen, which in turn makes the subject matter seem trite rather than relevant. even the band are not exempt from dabbling with cliché, as they depend on a lot of organ to connote religious or transcendent experiences, and yet the songs that sound the most transcendent are the ones that do the most to subvert the typical U2 sound. “fez” is one song in particular that demonstrates that the textures on this album prove to be much more interesting when they’re experimental, while it also functions as a reprisal of the “meet me in the sound” lyric from “get on your boots,” an integral idea of the album’s ideology.
it should be said that this album is great for headphones. there are a lot of subtle touches (like the sound-collage technique in “fez” or a very quiet loop in “moment of surrender” that teases at an african rhythm) that makes no line a really curious listen. this is not an album of stadium rock or fist-pumping anthems as you might expect, and the fact that the band goes to some lengths to have a bit of fun and to shake things up is commendable at the very least, making for some of the most interesting music they’ve made in years.
Filed under: Album Review , 2009, no line on the horizon, u2
