I've only heard the album a few times, so my jury still hasn't returned a final verdict. Nevertheless, here's what I'm not enamoured with:
-- "No Line On The Horizon" (the song): It's not terrible or anything, but as an opener it's pretty weak, and the "whoa-oa-oahs" by Bono sound. . . well, not good.
-- Bono's oversinging: It seems like he has two main voices on this record -- 1) high-pitched and loud (almost falsetto), or 2) talk-singing. For some reason, there aren't a lot of moments where I can hear his full bodied, full-strength voice (which was all over the last album).
-- Bono's verbal diarrhea: it's most noticeable on "I'll Go Crazy", but in general he seems determined to pack as many words in per-line as he can. Not sure if this is necessary.
-- the bass is too low in the mix / vocals too high (as usual when Lanois produces)
Anyway, it's certainly an interesting album sonically, and the rhythms are more complex than usual for U2, which is probably good. I really like "White As Snow". And, er... well, it's too early to judge it yet. But those are some things I don't like.
-- "No Line On The Horizon" (the song): It's not terrible or anything, but as an opener it's pretty weak, and the "whoa-oa-oahs" by Bono sound. . . well, not good.
-- Bono's oversinging: It seems like he has two main voices on this record -- 1) high-pitched and loud (almost falsetto), or 2) talk-singing. For some reason, there aren't a lot of moments where I can hear his full bodied, full-strength voice (which was all over the last album).
-- Bono's verbal diarrhea: it's most noticeable on "I'll Go Crazy", but in general he seems determined to pack as many words in per-line as he can. Not sure if this is necessary.
-- the bass is too low in the mix / vocals too high (as usual when Lanois produces)
Anyway, it's certainly an interesting album sonically, and the rhythms are more complex than usual for U2, which is probably good. I really like "White As Snow". And, er... well, it's too early to judge it yet. But those are some things I don't like.