🎸U2 Surprise-Drops Politically Charged ‘Days of Ash’ EP on Ash Wednesday, Tackling Ukraine War, Middle East Turmoil and U.S. Protest Tragedy

Six-Track Digital Release Features Tribute to Renée Good, Collaboration With Ed Sheeran and Ukrainian Front-Line Musician Taras Topolia; Full-Length Album to Follow With ‘More Joyful’ Tone

In a move that blends liturgical symbolism with geopolitical urgency, U2 has surprise-released a six-track EP, “Days of Ash,” timed to Ash Wednesday and steeped in themes of grief, protest, and global unrest.

The digital-only collection marks the band’s most substantial body of new material since 2017’s Songs of Experience, offering what frontman Bono describes as “songs of defiance and dismay” written in response to what he calls “mad and maddening times.”

Produced by longtime collaborator Jacknife Lee, the EP will not roll over into the band’s forthcoming full-length studio album. That record, Bono promises, will pivot toward a “much more joyful tone,” positioning Days of Ash as an urgent dispatch rather than a commercial bridge.