U2 released "Days of Ash" Wednesday, its first EP since 2017, addressing a series of deaths around the world and including references to Israel.
The track “The Tears of Things” takes its title from a book by Richard Rohr. The lyrics imagine a conversation between Michelangelo’s David and the artist who sculpted him. “The moral force of Judaism helped shape Western civilization,” Bono said about the song in a fanzine accompanying the EP, praising Jewish mathematicians, scientists and writers.
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U2's Bono slams Benjamin Netanyahu in interview following release of band's new EP
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky; Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
“Like Islamophobia, antisemitism must be confronted whenever we witness it," he added. "The rape, murder and kidnapping of Israelis on October 7 were evil — but self-defense is not a justification for the sweeping cruelty of Netanyahu’s response.” The EP also includes a reading of Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai’s “Shalom Rav.”
Another song focused on the Middle East, “One Life at a Time,” is dedicated to Odeh al-Hathalin, a Palestinian killed in the West Bank in July 2025 by an Israeli settler. Al-Hathalin had worked on the Oscar-winning film "No Other Land." Bono described the killing as “abhorrent” and said he hopes the song will be “healing.”
The EP opens with “American Obituary,” centered on Renée Good, a mother of three who was killed on January 7 while protesting ICE activity in Minneapolis. Bono described Good as “a woman committed to nonviolent civil disobedience,” adding, “If you let this pass in silence, you can kiss your democracy goodbye.” He called for an independent commission to investigate her death.
Another track highlights protests advocating for women’s rights in Iran. Bono also addressed casualties and refugees in the Sudan conflict and criticized the Trump administration for cutting U.S. foreign aid. Ed Sheeran features on the closing song, which is based on a letter from a Ukrainian soldier. “Ask anyone in East Germany, Poland or Latvia if they think Putin will stop in Ukraine if he can get away with it,” Bono said. “He’d find an excuse to invade Ireland if it served his purposes.”
In recent years, U2 has released several standalone singles, including “Atomic City” and “Your Song Saved My Life.” In 2023, the band released "Songs of Surrender," featuring reimagined versions of older tracks, and in 2024 it issued previously unheard material from the sessions for its 2004 album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." However, no new album or EP of original material had been released since 2017’s "Songs of Experience."
The band confirmed that a new album is slated for release later this year and will be entirely separate from the EP’s material. “The songs on "Days of Ash" are very different in mood and subject from those that will appear on the album,” Bono said. “They couldn’t wait; they are songs of defiance and mourning… in these crazy, crazy times.”
First published: 08:58, 02.19.26