U2 fans look at waxworks of the band at Celtic Note on Nassau Street in Dublin

U2, in Ireland at least, are almost unreviewable. Their critics range from those who regard any words of praise for the band as a sign of corporate teat-sucking to those who treat every word from Bono as gospel to those who are so determined to be fair they lose sight of the bigger picture. None of them is a reliable guide.

I've been listening to No Line On The Horizon all week and it's a gem. It's two tracks too long, contains U2's weakest single, and features a Bono who seems a bit out of sorts, but it contains moments of transcendent beauty which make you feel glad to be Irish and alive. In this worst of all years, you can't ask for much better than that.