U2 release six songs of "rebellion, dismay and lament"

Barcelona"The songs on this EP couldn't wait; they were eager to get out into the world. They are songs of rebellion, dismay, and lament," says Irish singer Bono about the EP. Days of ashwhich U2 released this Wednesday. "The celebratory songs will come later; we're working on them now. Despite the atrocity we see normalized every day on our screens, nothing is normal in these crazy times, and we must stand up to them so we can regain faith in the future, and in each other," adds Bono, who announces a new U2 album for later this year.

The six songs are: American obituary, The tears of things, Song of the Future,Wildpeace, One life at a timeandYours eternally (this one with the collaboration of Ed Sheeran and Taras Topolia, the vocalist of the Ukrainian group Antytila). American obituaryfollow the path opened by Bruce Springsteen and continued by other musicians such as Billy Bragg as a reaction to the murder of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis at the hands of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)"King Trump's private army," as Springsteen described it.

"From the beginning of the band, when we collaborated with Amnesty International and Greenpeace, we've never shied away from taking a stand. Sometimes it can be complicated, there's always some backlash, but taking a stand is an important part of who we are and why we continue to exist," says drummer Lar.

The tears of thingsInspired by the title of a book by the American Franciscan Richard Rohr, it proposes a dialogue between Michelangelo and the biblical David that the Italian artist immortalized in marble to address the need for compassion in a violent and desperate world. Song of the Future It is a tribute to Sarina Esmailzadeh, a 16-year-old Iranian girl who was killed during the 2022 student protests in Iran.

Wildpeace It is a poem by the Israeli Yehuda Amikhai, read by the Nigerian Adeola. One life at a time It is dedicated to the Palestinian Awdah Hathaleen, who collaborated on the documentary No other land (winner of an Oscar) and was murdered by an Israeli settler in 2025; the title, One life after anotherThat's a phrase that filmmaker Basel Adra uttered at the funeral. Finally, Yours eternally It is a song-letter from a Ukrainian soldier.