Days of Ash

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]

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]

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 and other contributors, as well as illustrations.^[4]

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[11]
The Daily Telegraph	[12]
The Guardian	[13]
Mojo	[14]
Pitchfork	6.0/10[15]
The Standard	[16]
The Times	[17]

Close

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]

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[21]