Get On Your Boots

U2 is back with a new first single from the forthcoming album "No Line On The Horizon". The single won't be out until 15 February (digital) but you can hear it already from their own exclusive site and on Spotify. The album is said by the band themselves to be inspired by time spent with Jack White and Jimmy Page, which you can hear a bit on the heavy, disted, cool rock'n'roll riff that kicks in immediately at the beginning of the song. The melody isn't as strong during the verse, but the bass-line lying a bit in the background keeps the groove up. Bono has also said that the album would include a "dancefloor shock", and I can see this song working on the floor at rock clubs. Sounds a bit more experimental and dance-orientated, judging from this song, than their last two albums. The best part is at the end of the song when there is a bit of a drum break, and then the guitar riff comes back harder than before and Bono yells 'yea he hey!' during the chorus, and I find myself playing a air guitar. The only thing that annoys me a bit is the electronic blip-blop sound that comes up like two times at the beginning of the chorus and just sounds like some computer warning message. Very useless, could have skipped that. A Swedish music journalist gave the song a 0/5 and called it "major crap" (which I think is more about his expectations not being fulfilled), and that the lyrics are just a bunch of lines put together without making sense. I can agree on the lyrics part, not the best I've heard. The line "I've gotta submarine, you've got gasoline / I don't wanna talk about war between nations/ Not right now" comes right before the chorus about 'sexy boots'. Doesn't really sound like the world-saving Bono you're used to. Maybe it's supposed to be ironic, I don't know. To sum it up it's not the best song I've heard from U2, and not an amazing first single either, but after a few listenings it grows a bit, and the riff kind of get stuck in your head. I would give it a 3/5, and look forward to hear the full album at the end of February.