Irish rockers U2 launched their first assortment of latest songs in almost a decade on Wednesday, that includes a collaboration with singer Ed Sheeran and a Ukrainian musician and soldier.
The standalone “Days of Ash” EP is “an immediate response to current events and inspired by the many extraordinary and courageous people fighting on the frontlines of freedom”, based on the band’s web site.
“These EP tracks couldn’t wait; these songs were impatient to be out in the world. They are songs of defiance and dismay,” frontman Bono stated in an announcement.
“Yours Eternally” is a collaboration with Sheeran and Taras Topolia, a Ukrainian musician-turned-soldier.
“Ask anyone in East Germany or Poland or Latvia if they think Putin will stop at Ukraine,” Bono informed “Propaganda”, the band’s fan journal.
The EP additionally sees the band pay tribute to Renee Good, an American girl who was shot lifeless by a federal agent as she protested towards Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in January.
In the opening monitor “American Obituary”, Bono sings: “Renee Good born to die free.”
The band stated they’d launch a brand new album later this yr.
Formed within the Seventies, U2 grew to become one of many world’s most outstanding rock bands via hits like “With or Without You” and their vocal human rights campaigning.
Bono, 65, is well-known for his activism to eradicate poverty and combat AIDS, and has been outspoken towards wars in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza lately.
“Song of the Future” honors a teenage woman who died whereas protesting in Iran in 2022, whereas “One Life at a Time” criticizes Israeli settler exercise within the occupied West Bank.
The newest EP builds on U2’s 2017 album “Songs of Experience”, which included tracks urging activism and tolerance, launched after Donald Trump’s first election as U.S. president.
© 2026 AFP