U2 is back with new music. On Feb. 18, the band dropped a surprise EP with songs inspired by ongoing societal and political issues.
Videos by American Songwriter
Titled Days of Ash, the project includes five songs and one poem. The bad described the EP as “an immediate response to current events and inspired by the many extraordinary and courageous people fighting on the frontlines of freedom.”
“American Obituary,” the band revealed in digital magazine, Propaganda, was written for Renee Good, a woman who was killed by ICE.
On “Song Of The Future,” U2 sings about Sarina Esmailzadeh. The 16-year-old girl died after Iranian security forces beat her for not wearing a hijab.
Then there’s “One Life At A Time,” a song inspired by Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian man who was killed by an Israeli settler.
Additionally, “Yours Eternally” features Ed Sheeran and Taras Topolia. U2 wrote the song after Bono and The Edge’s experience in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.
The EP also includes the song “”The Tears Of Things,” and “Wildpeace” a poem by Israeli author Yehuda Amichai.
U2 Members Speak Out About Their New EP
In a press release, Bono noted that “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 to the ones we’re going to put on our album later in the year,” he said. “These EP tracks couldn’t wait; these songs were impatient to be out in the world. They are songs of defiance and dismay.”
Meanwhile, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. said, “I believe these new songs stand up to our best work. We talk a lot about when to release new tracks. You don’t always know… the way the world is now feels like the right moment.”
In a statement of his own, The Edge noted, “We believe in a world where borders are not erased by force. Where culture, language, and memory are not silenced by fear. Where the dignity of a people is not negotiable.”
“This belief isn’t temporary,” he said. “It isn’t political fashion. It’s the ground we stand on. And we stand there together.”
Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images
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