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U2 are one of the biggest bands and one of the biggest brands in rock ‘n’ roll history, but it’s been more than eight years since the widely ignored Songs Of Experience<\/a><\/em>, their last album of new music. Since then, they’ve done a lot of work to maintain their legacy. The band opened the Sphere<\/a>. Bono published a memoir<\/a> and accepted a Presidential Medal Of Freedom<\/a>. They re-recorded 40 of their songs for 2023’s Songs Of Surrender<\/a><\/em>. Now, out of nowhere, there’s a new U2 EP. Thankfully, it seemingly did not appear on all of our phones without our knowledge.<\/p>\n Today, U2 released a six-song surprise EP called Days Of Ash<\/em>. Even though we haven’t gotten a new U2 record in years, this one still definitively sounds like a new U2 record. Many of the songs have lyrics specifically about people who have been killed by oppressive forces. Opening track “American Obituary,” for instance, has a bit of Achtung Baby<\/em>-style percussive glossiness along with its lyrics about the murder of Renee Good: “Renee Good, born to die free\/ American mother of three\/ Seventh day, January\/ A bullet for each child, you see. <\/p>\n “Song Of The Future,” meanwhile, is dedicated to Sarina Esmailzadeh, the 16-year-old Iranian girl who was beaten to death in a 2022 protest. He’s not mentioned by name on the song, but a press release claims that “One Life At A Time” is about Awdah Hathaleen, the Palestinian activist who was murdered by an Israeli West Bank settler last year after serving as a consultant on the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land<\/em>. (U2 issued a mealy-mouthed statement<\/a> about genocide in Palestine last year.)<\/p>\n On “Yours Eternally,” U2 team up with Ed Sheeran and with Sheeran’s past collaborator Taras Topolia, a Ukrainian soldier and singer of the band Antytila. “The Tears Of Things” is a big ballad with some old-school Edge ringing-guitar action. And then there’s “Wildpeace,” in which U2 and producer Jacknife Lee soundtrack Nigerian artist Adeola (of of Les Amazones d\u2019Afrique)’s reading of a poem from the late Israeli writer Yehuda Amichai. They even managed to both-sides this EP!<\/p>\n