CD REVIEWS POP/ROCK

U2, "No Line on the Horizon" (Interscope)

There are no anthems and few hooks on U2's 12th studio album (out Tuesday). After scrapping sessions with hot producer Rick Rubin, Bono and the boys finished their first project in nearly five years with co-producers Brian Eno and Danny (no longer "Daniel" on the liner notes) Lanois. The sound is generally atmospheric and almost cinematic, save for two selections produced by Steve Lillywhite, another longtime U2 collaborator. In other words, the vibe is closer to that of Eno's own work than the classic albums he produced with U2. Hence, "No Line" is more about rapture than excitement.

Layered instrumental passages drone on until Bono bursts into a short phrase or a lone word repeated. There's beauty in the rapture but not much for the radio. "Get on Your Boots," the new single built around an Adam Clayton bass line and Queen-like vocal harmonies, hasn't been burning up the request lines. More radio-friendly is "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight," which has an obvious melody, instrumental hook and "Angel of Harlem"-like riff as well as production by Lillywhite with an assist from will.i.am. It also has one of the album's great lines: "Every beauty needs to go out with an idiot." Perhaps some fans would prefer Bono's self-deprecating shot in the funky stomp "Stand Up Comedy": "Stand up to rock stars/ Napoleon is in high heels."

This album features Bono reflecting on stardom, singing, love and, of course, big issues. He closes with three commentaries -- the slow meditation "White as Snow," about war; the big, swirling, Lillywhite-produced rocker "Breathe," about optimism in hard times, and "Cedars of Lebanon," a dramatic reflection about war in the Middle East from a journalist's point of view.

As usual, Bono has a lot to say. But this time his bandmates have wrapped him in some of the most fascinating and challenging sonic textures since 1991's "Achtung Baby."

JON BREAM, STAR TRIBUNE