Pitchfork

Yes, that picture of a horizon line is the cover of U2's new album, No Line on the Horizon. No, it's not filled with minimal techno. The record-- produced by U2 stalwarts Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite-- is out on March 3 (March 2 in the UK) on Interscope with first single "Get On Your Boots" officially landing this Monday, January 19.

The cover (by Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto) is easily the band's weirdest since 1993's Zooropa. We're not sure what that means, exactly, but this thing is already looking better than 2004's below par How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. And, based on a recent Rolling Stone preview, Horizon has the potential to be U2's oddest-sounding LP in more than a decade. Along with the requisite stadium anthems, there's some "near-operatic choral music" and a "seven-minute-long track." Generally speaking, U2 are most interesting when they step out of their comfort zone, so the un-U2 art and relatively risky musical ideas seem promising. (Then again, there are two songs on here called "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" and "Cedars of Lebanon," so all bets are off, really.)

What's not-so-promising is the hilarious number of different formats this thing will come out on: there's the standard version with a 24-page booklet, the digipak with a 32-page booklet and "access to the downloadable" Anton Corbijn Horizon film Linear and a poster, the limited edition CD with a 64-page book and access to the film plus poster, the "box" edition which includes the limited edition plus a DVD of Corbijn's movie, a poster, and a hardback book, and a good old double-LP on 180 gram vinyl.

Collect all five! Or, you know, don't. I understand the need to offer tangible assets in the iTunes era, but that shit is just ridiculous.

No Line on the Horizon:

01 No Line on the Horizon
02 Magnificent
03 Moment of Surrender
04 Unknown Caller
05 I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
06 Get on Your Boots
07 Stand Up Comedy
08 Fez - Being Born
09 White as Snow
10 Breathe
11 Cedars of Lebanon