U2's new EP, 'Days of Ash,' delivers a burning musical protest against worldwide crises, from ICE raids in the US to war in Ukraine, and a promise of a defiant future of hope.
The five-song EP, dropped on Wednesday, has the weight of headlines. Each track is like a rallying cry, a song that refuses to sit quietly while the world spins out of control towards chaos. The band's frontman,Bono, told Rolling Stonehow the collection was born out of an urge that 'couldn't wait.'
The EP is a grim reminder that music may be a weapon and a shield.
Their song, 'American Obituary,' starts with a sombre guitar riff that echoes theshooting of Renee Good by ICE officers. The next track, 'The Tears of Things,' takes its name from a 2025 book written by Richard Rohr, and imagines a surreal conversation between Michelangelo and his statue, David, to reflect the situation between Israel and Gaza.
'Song of the Future' is a tribute to 16-year-old Sarina Esmailzadeh, who was killed in Iran's Women, Life, Freedom movement. The fourth song, 'Wildpeace,' features Nigerian artist Adeola of Les Amazones d'Afrique reciting a poem by Israeli writer Yehuda Amichai with music made by producer Jackknife Lee.
The last track, 'Yours Eternally,' is a letter, combining the voices of Ed Sheeran and Ukrainian singer Taras Topolia, which feels like a letter to a friend on the front lines.
These inspirations are listed in the EP's liner notes, which turn the album into a map of current suffering and solidarity. Every lyric is like a signpost pointing to the right to speak freely - a theme that emerged after the recentsuspension of Jimmy Kimmel.
Bono's statement reads, 'It's been a thrill having the four of us back together in the studio over the last year. The songs on Days of Ash are very different in mood and theme from the ones we're going to put on our album later in the year.'
He continued, 'These EP tracks couldn't wait; these songs were impatient to be out in the world. They are songs of defiance and dismay, of lamentation.'
He added, '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.'
Source: International Business Times UK
