No Line On The Horizon
by U2
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 409 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 324 out of 409
  2. Mixed: 42 out of 409
  3. Negative: 43 out of 409

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  1. Critine
    Oct 11, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Who knew breaks could ruin a band?

    U2’s 5 year break has maybe been too comfortable as this album just reeks of laziness and feels as no effort was put in at all. For example, most songs like Unknown Caller and Moment of Surrender sound the exact same. This can also be said for White as Snow and Cedars of Lebanon which are both boring, pathetic songs. Hell, I rather listen to Bruce fuming Springsteen!

    Not to mention there are only 5 of the 11 songs I actually enjoyed. Give these a listen because they are actually not bad and don’t suck

    -FEZ-BEING BORN
    -BREATHE
    -NO LINE ON THE HORIZON
    -MAGNIFICENT
    -ILL GO CRAZY IF I DON’T GO CRAZY TONIGHT

    Oh and stand up comedy is ok I guess

    Beside those 5, the album is below mediocre. While I don’t recommend the album, I recommend those handful of songs. Hopefully they improve.    … Expand
  2. alecvl08
    Nov 11, 2014
    6
    I like this album more than the last two from U2 because I like the experimentation employed. The first two tracks are great, and the lyrics are interesting and have a sort of interesting cryptic quality to them. Some of the experimentation, however, gets a little silly. For instance the weird vocal phrases spewed out on Unknown Caller are just cringe-worthy (Force quit! And move toI like this album more than the last two from U2 because I like the experimentation employed. The first two tracks are great, and the lyrics are interesting and have a sort of interesting cryptic quality to them. Some of the experimentation, however, gets a little silly. For instance the weird vocal phrases spewed out on Unknown Caller are just cringe-worthy (Force quit! And move to trash!) The rest of the album can be a little boring as it progresses, but the album ends on a personal note as Bono tells stories of his childhood on White as Snow, and then delivers some haunting mantra-like lines on Cedars of Lebanon to close the album. Overall, it's an improvement from All That You Can't Leave Behind and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, which were both atrocious, and it's good enough.… Expand
  3. jpotz
    Nov 5, 2013
    6
    Their best album since Zooropa, No Line is an improvement on the direction they were trying to take on their previous two LP's. Eno creates a rich, dense sound that never distracts from the songs. However, the album loses momentum toward in the second half, and its ambitions overwhelm its accomplishments (which has plagued many of U2's albums). No Line is more of a step in the rightTheir best album since Zooropa, No Line is an improvement on the direction they were trying to take on their previous two LP's. Eno creates a rich, dense sound that never distracts from the songs. However, the album loses momentum toward in the second half, and its ambitions overwhelm its accomplishments (which has plagued many of U2's albums). No Line is more of a step in the right direction than a realization of a goal.… Expand
  4. Lobatomy_Jon
    Jun 4, 2013
    5
    This album has a better user rating than Achtung Baby This band has been mailing it in since Zooropa. twenty years ago. Not a lot of spark. Boggles the mind.
  5. j30
    Jan 30, 2012
    6
    U2 will never be the band they once were back in the 80's and 90's, that's a fact of life everyone needs to know. However No Line On The Horizon is one of their more solid efforts in some time making one wonder if there is a line and have they crossed it already.
  6. howard_muse
    Sep 2, 2010
    6
    This is absolutely proof positive that the band believes it's own press. For a bit too long the band seems to have been under the impression that they can merely thump their chests and spew absurdities like Crazy Tonight and fans'll eat it up. Put this album up against a classic like All You Can't Leave Behind and it pales glaringly. It has it's moments but they are too few and too farThis is absolutely proof positive that the band believes it's own press. For a bit too long the band seems to have been under the impression that they can merely thump their chests and spew absurdities like Crazy Tonight and fans'll eat it up. Put this album up against a classic like All You Can't Leave Behind and it pales glaringly. It has it's moments but they are too few and too far between to save it from sheer mediocrity.… Expand
  7. SuleimanM.
    May 18, 2009
    6
    I love U2, but their latest offering is a bit of a let down. Far from a disaster, but a definite disappointment. Worth a listen, but don't expect to be blown away. Magnificent is brilliant however.
  8. AristonB
    May 16, 2009
    5
    Synthetic U2, have some moments, what remind what u2 used to be, but lacking soul. Achtung Baby meets How To..., and the last one wins. U2, was it for love or $$$?
  9. TimG
    Mar 16, 2009
    4
    The harder they come, the harder they fall, one and all! It's Tir Na Nog for Ul2. Get your boots on but don't let them touch the ground when you come down.
  10. VerminDeathstack
    Mar 15, 2009
    4
    Rolling stone said this was their best album since Achtung Baby. It
  11. IgorW
    Mar 13, 2009
    6
    NLOTH is a Eno-Lanois-U2 band trying to do the things the right way...sometimes they miss the target, but still there are some classics!
  12. SeanR
    Mar 9, 2009
    4
    A pretty boring album overall. Great concept of experimentation, very poor songwriting. Maybe they'll do better next time, however this album makes me want to fall asleep, and not in the nice peaceful way a classical piano can, but in the bored way sitting in a lecture hall with a monotone professor can.
  13. JoeBlow
    Mar 6, 2009
    5
    Boring, Embarrasing, Pedestrian etc. After all these years, these guys should have more to say than this. This record begs to end up in the $1.99 bin. It's so bland and directionless that it wouldn't even work as interesting background music. U2 has truly are the biggest band in the world, and with that, are guilty of all the trappings that come with global success, primarily laziness.
  14. pierreb.
    Mar 4, 2009
    4
    U2 refurnished itself with all u can leave behind, Now the cracks are showing, ehey tried to get back to their earlier work but they realy lost the way, how could they produce something like this? also Brian Eno i dont understand, with his status produce a patchwork of what? the only goold thing that 2 songs remind of the unforgetable fire, but u can't go back in time, eventhough yr U2 refurnished itself with all u can leave behind, Now the cracks are showing, ehey tried to get back to their earlier work but they realy lost the way, how could they produce something like this? also Brian Eno i dont understand, with his status produce a patchwork of what? the only goold thing that 2 songs remind of the unforgetable fire, but u can't go back in time, eventhough yr name is U2 and Bono they should not let him write lirics any more, maybe he can better write part 3 of the bible?… Expand

Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Most Discussed Album of 2009
60
#60 Most Shared Album of 2009

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 30
  3. Negative: 2 out of 30
  1. Los Angeles Times
    75
    No Line on the Horizon partakes of that romance by trying to expose its inner workings. It's risky to expose those delineations; as the band said long ago, it's like trying to throw your arms around the world. But the effort has its payoffs.
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  2. musicOMH.com
    80
    As far as exploration goes, U2 seem to have finally found what they were looking for.
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  3. AllMusic
    60
    Upon first listen, No Line on the Horizon seems as if it would be a classic grower, an album that makes sense with repeated spins, but that repetition only makes the album more elusive, revealing not that U2 went into the studio with a dense, complicated blueprint, but rather, they had no plan at all.
    Read full review
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