U2 has the first single from their new album No Line On The Horizon (slated to be released in March) streaming on their website. Click here to take a listen to “Get On Your Boots” (it’ll take a moment for audio to load).
The single marks yet another shift in direction for the band. Most people will undoubtedly compare it to “Vertigo,” (the first single off of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb) but I think that’s only because of A) the distorted guitar riff and B) the song’s uptempo. I’ve listened to the song six times in a row now, and although it’s growing on me, I can’t say that it gives any hint to what the album will be about except that it won’t be another “return to form.”
Bono’s lyrics come at a quick pace, and he goes global again in the verses with lines like, “Satan loves the bombscare but he won’t scare you,” “I got a submarine, you got gasoline, I don’t wanna talk about the war between the nations,” and “Candy first, ice cream, all the kids are screaming but the ghosts aren’t real.” (huh?) The chorus shifts gears as Bono declares, “You don’t know how beautiful you are.” I guess he’s telling us to take the time to recognize the positive within us, no matter how ugly the world may seem to get. In a lyrical sense, this is classic U2.
Steve Lillywhite, a longtime collaborator of the band, has said that the album may be U2′s “best yet,” and The Edge agrees, commenting in an interview to AtU2.com that “it (the album) has the potential to be our best.”
Time will tell… but seriously… what ELSE are they going to say? That the album sucks?
“Get On Your Boots” will be released as a digital download on February 15th with a physical format to follow on February 16th (through Mercury/Universal (UK)). To get the single NOW, you can pre-order No Line On The Horizon on iTunes.
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Some QOTSA feeling in there. Still cant stand U2 :s
Not very inventive i’d say.
Aw :( I so wanted to like it. So far, though, I must say I’m a wee bit disappointed. Not that it’s THAT horrible…it’s just not what I was expecting, I guess. I hope there’s at least one song on the album that reminds me of the U2 I knew and loved back in the day. There’s gotta be, right?
Well, I can’t say that is not in my opinion anywhere near their best ever. I like alot of the grooves and riffs, but I’m not sure I’m convinced they all go together yet.
After just one listen I have no desire to listen again.
WOW – if I didn’t recognize Bono’s voice, I don’t think I’d have known that was U2 – there’s nothing familiar about it. However, I don’t think it’s horrible…gonna have to listen a few more times, I think.
I have higher hopes for the rest of the album….I didn’t love this, but I didn’t hate it when I heard it yesterday….I have a hard time listening to singles as I am more of an album guy…..so I’ll wait for the whole album to judge….
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great stuff