Days of Ash

Days of Ash
EP by
U2
Released18 February 2026
Studio
  • Curlews (Ireland)
  • Universal (U.S.)
GenreRock
Length23:30
LabelIsland
ProducerJacknife Lee
U2 chronology
Songs of Surrender
(2023) 		Days of Ash
(2026)
Singles from Days of Ash
  1. "Song of the Future"
    Released: 18 February 2026[1]

Days of Ash is an EP by the Irish rock band U2. Produced by Jacknife Lee, it was released on 18 February 2026 through Island Records,[2] coinciding with Ash Wednesday. The six-track EP contains five new songs, including protest songs addressing the killings of Minneapolis woman Renée Good, Iranian teenager Sarina Esmailzadeh, and Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen, as well as a poem by Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai set to music.[3] It is the first collection of original songs released by the band since their studio album Songs of Experience in 2017.[4] The EP release was accompanied by a lyric video for each track[5] and a one-off special edition of the group's official magazine, Propaganda.[6]

Band commentary

U2's lead vocalist Bono commented on the sudden release of the EP, and the nature of its contents, stating: "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". He also confirmed that a studio album would follow later in 2026, with songs of a different style: "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".[4]

The EP marks the return of U2's drummer Larry Mullen Jr., who was forced to sit out the band's 2023−2024 concert residency at Sphere to recuperate from surgery. He said, "we've never shied away from taking a position and sometimes that can get a bit messy, there's always some sort of blowback, but it's a big side of who we are and why we still exist". U2 guitarist the Edge stated that U2 believes in "a world where borders are not erased by force" and Bono recognised the positive impact of Jewish morality, and scientists, writers and songwriters; he also commented that "the rape, murder and abduction of Israelis on 7 October was evil, but self-defence is no defence for the sweeping brutality of Netanyahu's response", and "ask anyone in east Germany or Poland or Latvia if they think Putin will stop at Ukraine if he can get away with it?"[4] The band mentioned that financial contributions will be made to the UNHCR, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Amnesty International.[5]

Composition

Days of Ash opens with the song "American Obituary", which is dedicated to Renée Good, a Minneapolis woman who was shot and killed in 2026 by agents of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Bono described the song as "a little more punk rock" than their 1983 song "Sunday Bloody Sunday". The lyrical cadence was a nod to one of Bono's favourite songs, "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" by Bob Dylan; in Dylan's song, the child is singing to the mother, while "American Obituary" reverses the roles.[6] The second song, "The Tears of Things", takes its title from the 2025 book The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage by Richard Rohr. The song's lyrics evoke a conversation between Michelangelo and his statue of David in the context of the Gaza war. "Song of the Future" pays tribute to Sarina Esmailzadeh, a 16-year-old Iranian schoolgirl who was beaten to death in 2022 by authorities for participating in the Mahsa Amini protests.[7]

The fourth track, "Wildpeace", is a poem by Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai that is read by Nigerian artist Adeola Fayehun, set to music by the EP's producer Jacknife Lee.[8] The song "One Life at a Time" was written in honour of the Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen, who was killed in 2025 in his West Bank village by an Israeli settler. The song's title comes from a phrase spoken at Hathaleen's funeral by Basel Adra, who directed the 2024 documentary film No Other Land on which Hathaleen consulted;[8] Adra lamented that Palestinians were being eradicated "one life at a time".[9] For the song, Bono reinterpreted the phrase as a "existential suggestion" that the world can be changed "for the better or for the worse... one life a time".[8]

The EP closes with the song "Yours Eternally", which features guest vocals by the English musician Ed Sheeran and the Ukrainian singer-turned-soldier Taras Topolia. Through a mutual connection with Sheeran, Bono and the Edge met Topolia during their 2022 performance at a Kyiv subway station shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[9] The song's lyrics take the form of a letter written by a Ukrainian soldier on active duty to his friends back home saying, "you better be having a good time back there". Sheeran sings a verse that serves as a reply to the soldier's letter.[6]

Release

Days of Ash was surprise released on 18 February 2026, coinciding with Ash Wednesday. It was accompanied by a one-off edition of Propaganda, U2's official magazine. The 52-page issue described Days of Ash as "six postcards from the present... Wish we weren't here".[6] The magazine contains interviews with the band members.[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[11]
The Daily Telegraph[12]
The Guardian[13]
Mojo[14]
Pitchfork6.0/10[15]
The Standard[16]
The Times[17]

In a four-star review, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian found the songs a return to form for U2, saying that they "reaffirm[ed] the band as a vital political force" and "that zeal, purpose and belief has been recaptured". The songs were likened to U2's 1983 album War and were likewise noted for their combination of biblical imagery and political messaging.[13] Una Mullally of The Irish Times described the band as "reinvigorated" with the songs having a "surprising urgency [with] power and tenderness". Specific regard was given to "The Tears of Things", which was described as "melodically and structurally rather stunning". The song "Yours Eternally" was praised as being "an immediate and technicolour banger".[18] Billboard called Days of Ash an "emotional, classically stirring U2 collection" and felt that U2 "met the moment" with the material attuned to the current political and social climate.[5] Writing in The Daily Telegraph, critic Neil McCormick gave Days of Ash four out of five stars and described it as U2's most overtly political and urgent release in years, comparing its themes and intensity to the band's protest-era work of the 1980s. He highlighted the EP's focus on contemporary global conflicts and social unrest, noting a mix of punk-driven aggression and more reflective, melodic material. McCormick singled out "The Tears of Things" as a standout track with a poetic, meditative, and atmospheric character with anthemic qualities.[12] Pat Carty in The Irish Independent wrote that Days of Ash was their best release in decades, and that "American Obituary" in particular, "rocks like a battleship balancing on a bottle of milk".[19]

In March 2026, Esquire named it one of five best albums of the year to that point.[20]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Bono, except where noted; all music is composed by U2, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."American Obituary"  4:23
2."The Tears of Things"  5:25
3."Song of the Future"  3:55
4."Wildpeace" (spoken word by Adeola)Yehuda Amichai
1:18
5."One Life at a Time"
 4:03
6."Yours Eternally" (featuring Ed Sheeran and Taras Topolia)
 4:26

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[21]

U2

Guest musicians

  • Jacknife Lee – programming (2–6), guitar (2, 3, 5, 6), piano (2, 5), background vocals (3), keyboards (4, 6), synthesizer (4), additional vocals (6)
  • Adeola – spoken word (4)
  • Ed Sheeran – vocals (6)
  • Taras Topolia – vocals (6)
  • Bob Geldof – choir vocals (6)
  • Chupryna Valeria – choir vocals (6)
  • Dmytro Vodovozov – choir vocals (6)
  • Dmytro Zholud – choir vocals (6)
  • Jeanne Marine – choir vocals (6)
  • Kateryna Motrych – choir vocals (6)
  • Maksym Syvolap – choir vocals (6)
  • Mykhailo Chirko – choir vocals (6)
  • Nadya Tolokonnikova – choir vocals (6)
  • Sergii Vusyk – choir vocals (6)
  • Vladyslav Greziev – choir vocals (6)

Technical personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Days of Ash
Chart (2026) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[22] 54
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] 14
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 14
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25] 8
French Albums (SNEP)[26] 123
French Rock & Metal Albums (SNEP)[27] 5
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] 87
Irish Albums (OCC)[29] 32
Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon)[30] 10
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 8
UK Albums Sales (OCC)[32] 8
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[33] 18

References

  1. ^ Fontana, Stefano (18 February 2026). "Song Of The Future - U2". EarOne (in Italian). Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  2. ^ "U2 surprise-release new EP Days Of Ash". Hot Press. 18 February 2026. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  3. ^ Corcoran, Nina (18 February 2026). "U2 Release New EP Days of Ash". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (18 February 2026). "Bono lambasts ICE, Putin, Netanyahu and more as U2 release first collection of new songs since 2017". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  5. ^ a b c Kaufman, Gil (18 February 2026). "U2 Meet the Moment With 'Days of Ash' EP Spotlighting Renée Good Killing, Gaza, Ukraine Wars: 'These EP Tracks Couldn't Wait'". Billboard. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d "U2 Propaganda Days of Ash EP". U2 Propaganda Days of Ash EP. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  7. ^ Dunworth, Liberty (18 February 2026). "U2 surprise release politically-charged 'Days Of Ash' EP: 'These songs were impatient to be out in the world. They are songs of defiance and dismay'". NME. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  8. ^ a b c Greene, Andy (18 February 2026). "U2 Surprise-Drop Politically Charged 'Days of Ash' EP With Six New Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  9. ^ a b Redfern, Mark (19 February 2026). "U2 Release a New Politically Charged EP, Including One Song Inspired by the Death of Renée Good". Under the Radar. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  10. ^ "Days of Ash EP by U2 Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  11. ^ Yeung, Neil Z. (25 February 2026). "Days of Ash − U2". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  12. ^ a b McCormick, Neil (18 February 2026). "U2 are back on the barricades with their most political work in years". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  13. ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (18 February 2026). "U2: Days of Ash review – six new tracks reaffirm the band as a vital political voice". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  14. ^ Doyle, Tom (19 February 2026). "U2 − Days of Ash". Mojo. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  15. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (25 February 2026). "Days of Ash EP: U2". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
  16. ^ Robinson, Martin (20 February 2026). "U2's Days of Ash EP: Political fury drives a thrilling set of comeback songs". The Standard. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  17. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (19 February 2026). "U2: Days of Ash review — the protest song is alive once more". The Times. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  18. ^ Mullally, Una (18 February 2026). "U2 Days of Ash review: You may loathe the politically broad tone, but the band sounds reinvigorated". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  19. ^ Carty, Pat (19 February 2026). "A band revitalised and full of political fire – U2's surprise 'Days of Ash' EP is their best release in decades". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  20. ^ Light, Alan (3 March 2026). "The 5 Best Albums of 2026 (So Far)". Esquire. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  21. ^ "Days Of Ash EP / U2 / Credits". Tidal. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  22. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 2 March 2026". The ARIA Report. No. 1878. Australian Recording Industry Association. 2 March 2026. p. 6.
  23. ^ "Austriancharts.at – U2 – Days of Ash EP" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – U2 – Days of Ash EP" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – U2 – Days of Ash EP" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  26. ^ "Top Albums (Semaine du 27 février 2026)". Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  27. ^ "Top Rock & Metal Albums (Semaine du 27 février 2026)" (in French). Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – U2 – Days of Ash EP" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  29. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart on 27/2/2026 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  30. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Digital Albums: 2026-03-02" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 25 February 2026. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
  31. ^ "Swisscharts.com – U2 – Days of Ash EP". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  32. ^ "Official Albums Sales Chart on 20/02/2026 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  33. ^ "U2 Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
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