U2 have marked this Ash Wednesday by unveiling a surprise EP called Days of Ash. The six-track project arrives ahead of the group’s new album, planned for release in late 2026. Stream it below.
Days of Ash is described in a press release as “an immediate response to current events and inspired by the many extraordinary and courageous people fighting on the frontlines of freedom.” Several of the tracks are about folks, including a mother, a father, and a teenage girl, whose lives were brutally cut short.
In a statement, Bono explained that the EP’s songs are “very different in mood and theme” from those on their upcoming album. “These EP tracks couldn’t wait; these songs were impatient to be out in the world,” he said. “They are songs of defiance and dismay, of lamentation.”
He continued, “Songs of celebration will follow, we’re working on those now… because for all the awfulness we see normalized daily on our small screens, there’s nothing normal about these mad and maddening times, and we need to stand up to them before we can go back to having faith in the future. And each other.”
Of the six tracks, “American Obituary” was inspired by Renée Nicole Good, the American woman who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis earlier this year. “One Life at a Time” was written for Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian father of three, nonviolent activist, and teacher who was killed by an Israeli settler, while “Song of the Future” honors the life of 16-year-old Sarina Esmailzadeh, one of thousands of Iranian schoolgirls who took to the streets as part of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in 2022.
“The Tears of Things” borrows its title from Franciscan friar Richard Rohr’s book examining how one can live compassionately in a time of violence and despair. The song’s lyrics imagine a conversation between Michelangelo’s David and his creator.
Meanwhile, “Yours Eternally” finds Bono and The Edge joined on vocals by Ukrainian musician-turned-soldier Taras Topolia, as well as Ed Sheeran. Inspired by Topolia, the track will be accompanied by a four-and-a-half-minute documentary film directed by Ukrainian cinematographer Ilya Mikhaylus, which is set for release on February 24th to coincide with the 4th anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The EP also features a reading of Israeli author and poet Yehuda Amichai’s “Wildpeace” by Nigerian artist Adeola of Les Amazones d’Afrique, set to music by U2 and Jacknife Lee.
Days of Ash is accompanied by a one-off return of U2’s zine, Propaganda, in digital format and a limited-edition print run. Read it here.
Days of Ash Artwork:
Days of Ash Tracklist:
01. American Obituary
02. The Tears of Things
03. Song of the Future
04. Wildpeace – by Yehuda Amichai, read by Adeola, with music by U2 and Jacknife Lee.
05. One Life at a Time
06. Yours Eternally (feat. Ed Sheeran & Taras Topolia)
You must be logged in to post a comment.