"Days of Ash" - U2

EP

Track Listing:

Background Information

On Wednesday February 18, 2026, U2 released a surprise six song collection of new music called “Days of Ash”. The EP is produced by Jacknife Lee. The release is available on digital storefronts and streaming services, in a number of formats including high resolution audio. The songs can be found here.

The release date is Ash Wednesday, traditionally known as the “Day of Ashes”. This day lends the name to the release. Ash Wednesday is a holy day of fasting and prayer, and marks the beginning of Lent, a period of reflection and soul searching. Ash Wednesday also kicks off the 40 day period (excluding Sundays) which leads to Easter. The bible refers to a 40 day and 40 night period where Jesus spent his time in the desert, fasting, and being tempted by the devil, which has likely lead to the concept of Lent. U2 also points out that Ash Wednesday is the day that follows Carnival.

The surprise nature of the EP meant that no physical copies were produced for the release date, and information about the release was kept as a guarded secret. At least two potential advance leaks of information pertaining to the EP were both quickly resolved to maintain the secret. The EP was launched by longtime friend Dave Fanning who broke into regular programming on RTE 2FM radio to speak about the EP, and to play tracks from the release starting with “American Obituary”. Fanning played the full EP with the exception of “Wildpeace” and spoke with the regular DJs about the songs, and the inspiration behind the songs. Simultaneously the EP began appearing on digital services around the world, and U2 X-Radio started playing songs from the EP accompanied by Bono and the Edge speaking about the songs. Advance press about the EP had been provided to some media outlets, and at the same time Fanning was sharing information on RTE 2FM, media outlets like Rolling Stone were sharing details about the release.

The EP is political in nature, and references current events in the United States, Palestine and Ukraine. Bono shares “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. These EP tracks couldn’t wait; these songs were impatient to be out in the world. They are songs of defiance and dismay…” Four of the five songs are inspired by individuals, “a mother, a father, a teenage girl whose lives were brutally cut short – and a soldier who’d rather be singing but is ready to die for the freedom of his country.” On U2.com a series of covers, one for each song, were made available. Many include a face. “One Life at a Time” features a photo of Awdah Hathaleen, the Palestinian activist killed by an Israeli settler, whose story inspired the song. “American Obituary” includes a photo of Renee Good, the young woman recently killed by ICE in Minnesota. “Yours Eternally” features the face of Taras Topolia in his Ukrainian army uniform. Topolia also features on the song. “Wildpeace” features the dove logo used on the recent “Love and Peace or Else” fan club hoodie. “The Tears of Things” features an image of the face of the statue of David with his heart shaped pupils. “Song of the Future” features an image of Sarina Esmailzadeh, an Iranian teenage influencer, and women’s rights activist, beaten and killed by Iranian security forces.

There are a number of guests on the EP. The third track here is “Wildpeace”, a poem written by Yehuda Amichai, and read on the EP by Adeola. The music for the track is attributed to U2 and Jacknife Lee. “Yours Eternally”, the final track on the EP features both Ed Sheeran and Taras Topolia. Topolia is the lead singer of the Ukrainian band Antytila. Sheeran and Topolia have recorded together in the past, and Bono and The Edge joined Topolia and Antytila on stage in concert in London in 2023 to perform “Mothers of the Disappeared”. They also performed with the band in 2022 at the Khreshchatyk Metro Station in Kyiv, Ukraine.

The six new songs on “Days of Ash” are the first new music from U2 since 2023’s “Atomic City“ single. U2 have been working on a new album, and the songs for this release came from those sessions, which are still underway. The album sessions started in earnest in August 2023 when Larry Mullen, recovering from a series of surgeries, was able to rejoin U2 full time in the studio. The surgeries were done to correct years of damage from his career as a drummer, and all reports say Mullen is healed and has returned to the band full time. The recording sessions for the new album were held in Dublin, Los Angeles, and the South of France. The material making up this EP appear to be more recent recordings based on the lyrical content of the songs.

Launching at the same time as the EP on digital services were six lyric videos, available via YouTube. The six videos, one for each track, were put together by F That Digital Creative Agency, in conjunction with U2’s creative team. A few days later, on February 24, U2 released a traditional video filmed in Ukraine featuring the soldiers of Khartiya Corps was debuted via YouTube, directed by filmmaker Ilya Mikhaylus. That release of the video marked the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A longer documentary will follow later in the year. That video was also sent out for promotion, but with the EP version of the music.

A new issue of U2’s Propaganda magazine was available as a digital release the day that “Days of Ash” launched. The magazine is labeled volume 3, issue 1, and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the launch of that magazine. It functions as a look at the EP, as well including articles on each band member, including Bono looking at the people who inspired the songs on the album, and Larry’s return to the drum kit as well as liner notes for the EP, and a look at Mikhaylus’ documentary. On March 5, another surprise announcement shared that physical copies of the magazine would be available in 142 stores starting on that day, and that additional copies would be sent to longtime subscribers of U2.com. 2500 copies were produced. We take a deeper look at the physical version here. The letter accompanying the mailing to fans shared, “It was important to the band that this project lands authentically. Rather than a highly polished or traditional promotional rollout, they intentionally chose a more guerilla and organic approach – something relevant, immediate, and true to the message. the fanzine is an extension of that mindset: a tangible piece created to be shared directly with the community.”

Bono teased the possibility of this release on a couple of occasions last year, telling Brendan O’Connor on RTÉ Radio 1 last May, “We want to release some of this album. Why it might take more than a week to come out. We want to play some of it live. We’ve promised ourselves that since our first album. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could just play this live? Maybe even play it live first, and then put out the album. That’s another thought we’re playing with.” During the Woody Guthrie Awards acceptance Bono and The Edge spoke with T-Bone Burnett, and Bono once again mused on the idea. Talking about the new song “One Life at a Time” (featured on the EP), Bono shared, “So I thought it would be an interesting thing and wrote it that week. We were envious, because you know Neil Young, I think he wrote ‘Ohio’ about the Kent State University, put it out, Crosby Stills were a big deal and put it out that week. We didn’t. Because we didn’t get it finished.” He has since confirmed that none of these tracks will appear on the upcoming album, which has been announced for a late 2026 release.

The cover of the EP features U2 huddled around the camera, which is looking upwards. Behind the band you can see the Jean Cocteau designs inside the Chapelle Saint Pierre at Villefranche-sur-Mer, in the South of France. The walls of the chapel were painted by Cocteau in 1957. The cover was designed by long time U2 graphic artist Shaughn McGrath, and photographed by Viviane Sassen.

The release is being labeled an EP, which is longer than a single, but shorter than a full length album. Contemporary EPs often contain up to eight songs, and run up to 30 minutes in length. Apple Music defines an EP as having four to six tracks and running under 30 minutes. However, different organizations will treat this as an album instead. The Grammy Awards for instance consider anything with five or more songs and a time of greater than 15 minutes as an album. The RIAA which certifies albums in the US would consider this an EP. And over in the UK, the Official Charts considers anything with more than four tracks (or more than 25 minutes) as an album for chart purposes.

U2’s first release of their career was the EP “Three“, released in 1979 in Ireland. And while they have released a number of EPs since that time, most have focused on live music, occasionally with new tracks, or in the case of “Early Demos” much older material being released for the first time. This is the first time U2 has released an EP of entirely new material since the release of “Three”. The EP arrives in 2026, which is the 50th anniversary of the formation of U2. We expect further celebrations throughout the year including a single in early summer and an album and the announcement of a tour later in this year.

The same day as the EP, promotional copies of the “Days of Ash“ EP were sent to radio and media. “Song of the Future” was identified as the single for the radio single in most regions. “American Obituary“ was issued as a promotional single in North America instead. “Yours Eternally“ was sent out for promotion in some regions as well.

Liner Notes

American Obituary
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono.
Bono: Vocals. The Edge: Guitar & Vocals. Adam Clayton: Bass Guitar. Larry Mullen Jr.: Drums. Produced by Jacknife Lee. Engineered by Duncan Stewart. Mixing and Programming by Jacknife Lee.

The Tears of Things
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono.
Bono: Vocals. The Edge: Guitar & Vocals. Adam Clayton: Bass Guitar. Larry Mullen Jr.: Drums.
Piano, keyboards, and additional guitar by Jacknife Lee.
Produced by Jacknife Lee. Engineered by Duncan Stewart. Mixing and programming by Jacknife Lee.

Song of the Future
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono.
Bono: Vocals. The Edge: Guitar & Vocals. Adam Clayton: Bass Guitar. Larry Mullen Jr.: Drums.
Additional guitars, vocals, and Programming by Jacknife Lee.
Produced by Jacknife Lee. Engineered by Duncan Stewart. Mixed by Tom Elmhirst.

Wildpeace
Music by U2 & Jacknife Lee
Words by Yehuda Amichai. Spoken word by Adeola.
Produced, engineered and mixed by Jacknife Lee.
Synths, keyboards and programming by Jacknife Lee.

One Life at a Time
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono.
Bono: Vocals. The Edge: Guitar & Vocals. Adam Clayton: Bass Guitar. Larry Mullen Jr.: Drums.
Piano, additional guitar & programming by Jacknife Lee. Produced by Jacknife Lee. Engineered by Duncan Stewart. Mixed by Tom Elmhirst.

Yours Eternally (featuring Ed Sheeran and Taras Topolia)
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono, The Edge, Ed Sheeran & Simon Carmody
Bono, The Edge, Ed Sheeran & Taras Topolia: Vocals
The Edge: Guitar
Adam Clayton: Bass Guitar
Larry Mullen Jr.: Drums
Additional Vocals – Choir: Nadya Tolokonnkova, Bob Geldof, Jeanne Marine, Vladyslave Greziev, Kateryna Motrych, Chuppyna Valeria, Maksym Syvolap, Sergii Vusyk, Mykhalo Chirko, Dmytro Zholud, Dmytro Vodovozov.
Programming, keyboards, additional guitar & vocals by Jacknife Lee. Produced by Jacknife Lee. Engineered by Duncan Stewart. Mixed by Jacknife Lee.

All tracks mastered by Scott Sedillo, Bernie Grundmann Mastering.

Artwork

Cover photo: Viviane Sassen
Cover Design: Shaughn McGrath Creative Director: Gavin Friday

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