Concurrent with the Ash Wednesday (2.28,) holy day in many-a-Christian denomination, U2 surprised-released a political-charged extended play (EP) titled Days of Ash of five new songs and ‘Wildpeace,’ a poem written by Israeli author/poet Yehuda Amichai, and narrated by Nigerian artist Adeola of Les Amazones d’Afrique.
In a statement about their forthcoming 16th studio LP, Bono said “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.” “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. 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.”
the rock band – formed of Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. – dropped the standalone six-track project.
Reflecting on the raids undertaken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in major US cities as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration and the fatal shooting of Renée Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the EP opens with ‘American Obituary.’
The track ‘Song of the Future’ honors the life of 16-year-old Sarina Esmailzadeh, an Iranian girl who was allegedly beaten to death at a protest in 2022.
The song ‘One Life At A Time’ is written for Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian father of three who was killed in his village in the West Bank in July 2025.
For ‘Yours Eternally,’ the band’s frontman and The Edge are joined by Ed Sheeran and Ukrainian musician-turned-soldier, Taras Topolia.
“Taras is the inspiration for Yours Eternally, a song written in the form of a letter from a soldier on active duty with a bold, mischievous spirit to match Ukraine’s,” explained Bono.
In addition to the music, the Days of Ash EP is accompanied by the return of Propaganda – a one-off 52-page digital magazine, that was first published by U2 some 40 years ago.
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Author: Al Denté
Photo: U2start