Hullo, hullo
Its apt that U2, the prehistoric “rock band of the ages” should attempt to make history with an album title that essentially proclaims their dominance not just in eons past but in futures yet to come. No Line on The Horizon, set to launch worldwide in 03 March, comes laden with expectations that U2 can never leave behind with every album release.
Producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno have once again taken great pains to declare NLOTH’s innovation and reinvention of rock music; perhaps U2 would have been better off remaining as the Hype, for the irony that Bono loves.
Having heard the beach clips (yes, bono singing amidst ambient sounds of slushing waves and chittering french dudes) and read tonnes of sneak reviews, previews, interviews - myview (ok, bad one) is this: the quality of u2 albums the past 30 years is analogous to the financial cycle.
This is how it works- Stocks rise exponentially (Boy, War, Unforgettable Fire) with slight but short-lived corrections (October) eventually hitting a peak (Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby) before slowly declining and bottoming out (Zooropa, Passengers, Pop). The market picks up again at a considerably measured rate (All that you can leave Behind, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb) compared to its beginning and ultimately end up at a peak higher than the previous one.
Which brings us to No Line On the Horizon.
What did I say about the hype again?
