Release of album No Line on the Horizon

No Line on the Horizon was released in February 2009, more than four years after How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb , the longest gap between albums of the band’s career to that point. It received generally positive reviews, including their first five-star Rolling Stone review, but critics found it was not as experimental as originally billed. The album debuted at number one in over 30 countries, but its sales of 5 million were seen as a disappointment by U2 standards and it did not contain a hit single. Following the album’s release, the band discussed tentative plans for a follow-up record entitled Songs of Ascent . Bono described the project as “a more meditative album on the theme of pilgrimage”.