Certain songs retain the usual U2 flare, but others sound like something Scouting for Girls might have cooked up in a spare hour (and I’m afraid I don’t mean this in a good way, Scouting for Girls fans out there). Some may also be disappointed with the lack of the previously expressed desire for experimentation, which is barely visible here. However, this album is definitely listenable, and on repeat occasions certain songs are distinctly great.

This album is definitely a tale of two halves. Certain tracks are glorious, beat-driven tunes which are almost irresistible from the first listen onward. The main single of ‘Get on Your Boots’ totally steals the drum beat from Led Zeppelin’s ‘When the Levee Breaks’ at one point, but is nonetheless a great song. ‘I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight’ is another high point, catching a similar spirit of high energy and action, and the same is certainly true of ‘Stand Up Comedy’, which is possibly my favourite song here. Further, ‘Magnificent’ is normally just so, but does feel somewhat unoriginal. Half of me is inclined to like ‘Moment of Surrender’ for its ethereal qualities, whilst the other half thinks occasionally that it is both contrite and overly long.

Then we turn to the downside. ‘Unknown Caller’ has to be one of the more bizarre and incomprehensible songs, with the irritating lyrics seemingly taken from random computer-related jargon, and sounds like a bad attempt to rip-off Coldplay’s ‘Lost!’ from Viva La Vida. ‘Cedars of Lebanon’ is certainly quiet and calming, but the appalling lyrics (Bono really wasn’t on the ball that day) contrives to make it rather dull. ‘Fez- Being Born’ is supposed to be experimental, but in reality it sounds like something from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The title song itself is merely average U2, and is neither here nor there.

On balance, there is more available on No Line on the Horizon to enjoy than to cringe at. U2 fans will certainly get their fill, and the causal listener will be left mostly satisfied; but it seems to lack any serious enduring strengths. There is no universal feel, and the hodgepodge of songs don’t really fit together well. If you aren’t setting your expectations too high (say, as high as Achtung Baby), U2 manage to deliver.