It doesn’t bode well when your wife calls in from the other room, “is this Stone Temple Pilots?” Her chiding cynicism aside, this is what Eno, Lanois and Lillywhite hath brought. The first single from U2’s forthcoming No Line On The Horizon is an ass-kicker and, well, I’m okay with the fact that it may sound a little bit grunge and a little bit Escape Club.
U2 is still intent on making a rocking first impression with “Get On Your Boots,” a pleasing single that doesn’t overcompensate for middle-agedom quite like “Vertigo” did. The muddy, muscular Edge riffs and tar-heavy bass of Senior Adam Clayton rumble perfectly along with Larry Mullen Jr.’s metallic drumming (incidentally, his robotic beats sound the most organic they have in years). After two mediocre albums–true U2 fans, let’s be honest with each other–the news of a Eno/Lanois pairing gave us the hope we were looking for in ’09. And as this first single indiciates, both sonically and melodically, the biggest band in the world is back to reclaim its throne.
I’m not gonna lie–I’m kinda stoked for March 3rd. –Arye Dworken
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