'It's very raw and very to the point.' The band have been talking to Rolling Stone about the new songs.
Rolling Stone visited the studio in London a few weeks before the end of recording. The new issue, on sale this week, has the low-down... but here's what they made of some of the tracks they heard then.
"No Line on the Horizon"
The title track's relentless groove began as a group improvisation. "It's very raw and very to the point," says the Edge. "It's like rock & roll 2009."
"Crazy Tonight"
"It's kind of like this album's 'Beautiful Day' - it has that kind of joy to it," Bono says. With the refrain "I know I'll go crazy/If I don't go crazy tonight," it's the band's most unabashed pop tune since "Sweetest Thing."
"Tripoli"
This strikingly experimental song lurches between disparate styles, including near-operatic choral music, Zooropa-style electronics, and churning arena rock.
"Moment of Surrender"
This seven-minute-long track is one of the album's most ambitious, merging a Joshua Tree-style gospel feel with a hypnotically loping bass line and a syncopated beat.
Check
Rolling Stone for clues on six more tracks.