U2 return with their first collection of new songs since 2017, with Bono leading a politically charged statement on global conflict, protest and truth ahead of a separate new album later in 2026.
by Paul Cashmere
Irish rock institution U2 have surprise-released Days Of Ash, a six-track EP marking their first body of new original material since 2017’s Songs Of Experience. Issued on Ash Wednesday, the release arrives as an immediate response to current global events and precedes a separate full-length album due later in 2026.
Days Of Ash features five new songs and a musical setting of the poem Wildpeace by Yehuda Amichai, read by Nigerian musician Adeola. The EP revisits the band’s long-established engagement with human rights, conflict and political accountability, themes that have defined U2’s work since the early 1980s when albums such as War cemented their reputation as an arena-scale band unafraid of moral positioning.
Opening track American Obituary addresses the January 7 killing of Minneapolis mother Renée Good during a protest against trump’s Gestapo, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, activity. Bono characterises Good as a practitioner of nonviolent civil disobedience and has called for an independent inquiry into her death. The song’s lyrics confront the language used by authorities, challenging the designation of Good as a “domestic terrorist” and framing the issue as a broader erosion of democratic norms.
Song Of The Future turns to Iran’s Women, Life, Freedom movement and references 16-year-old protester Sarina Esmailzadeh, who died in 2022 after reportedly being beaten during demonstrations. Iranian officials stated she took her own life, a claim disputed by human rights investigations. Bono has described Iran’s ruling clerical establishment as weaponising religious interpretation to silence dissent.
One Life At A Time centres on Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian activist killed in the West Bank in July 2025. Hathaleen had contributed to the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land. Bono has labelled the killing “heinous”, expressing hope that the song offers solace amid escalating violence.
The Tears Of Things, its title drawn from the book by Richard Rohr, reflects on religious extremism and authoritarianism. The lyrics imagine a dialogue between Michelangelo’s David and its sculptor, extending U2’s longstanding use of biblical and classical imagery to interrogate contemporary crises.
The EP closes with Yours Eternally, featuring guest vocals from Ed Sheeran and Ukrainian musician turned soldier Taras Topolia. The song is framed as a letter from a soldier serving in Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. Sheeran previously facilitated a meeting between Topolia, Bono and The Edge, which led to a 2022 performance in a Kyiv metro station converted into a bomb shelter. A short documentary directed by Ukrainian film-maker Ilya Mikhaylus will accompany the track, timed to the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Bono has been forthright in his broader commentary, criticising Vladimir Putin’s expansionist ambitions and questioning whether Russia would halt at Ukraine if unchallenged. He has also condemned antisemitism and Islamophobia, while arguing that the Israeli government’s military response in Gaza has crossed into sweeping brutality. In recent years, all four members of U2 issued statements expressing concern over humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
The release is accompanied by a new edition of the band’s Propaganda fanzine, a publication first launched in 1986. The 52-page issue includes lyrics, band commentary and interviews tied to the EP. Days Of Ash also supports charitable partners including the Committee to Protect Journalists, Amnesty International and the UN Refugee Agency.
The Edge has described the project as rooted in a belief that borders should not be erased by force and that culture and dignity are non-negotiable. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr, who recently returned to recording following neck surgery that sidelined him during U2’s Las Vegas Sphere residency, said the band has never avoided taking positions, despite inevitable backlash.
In the years since Songs Of Experience, U2 have remained active through touring, the reimagined Songs Of Surrender album in 2023 and archival releases from the How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb sessions. Days Of Ash, however, is distinct in its immediacy. Bono has emphasised that the EP stands apart from the forthcoming album, which he describes as having a carnival atmosphere and a more overtly celebratory tone.
“The songs on Days Of Ash are very different in mood and theme to the ones we’re going to put on our album later in the year,” Bono said. “These EP tracks couldn’t wait; these songs were impatient to be out in the world.”
U2 – Days Of Ash Tracklisting
American Obituary
The Tears Of Things
Song Of The Future
Wildpeace – by Yehuda Amichai, read by Adeola, with music by U2 and Jacknife Lee
One Life At A Time
Yours Eternally featuring Ed Sheeran & Taras Topolia
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