U2 have marked Good Friday by surprise releasing another new standalone EP. Check out ‘Easter Lily’ below.
Released today (Friday April 3), ‘Easter Lily’ follows on from February’s “defiant” and politically-charged ‘Days Of Ash’ EP, which was released on Ash Wednesday. The six new tracks again come as a “separate, self-contained collection” of new music while sessions for the Irish rock giants’ 15th album remain ongoing.
In keeping with the religious holiday, the ‘Easter Lily’ EP is described as a “much more reflective set of songs” compared to its predecessor, “emerging from a more personal, private place that some may retreat to in such times – exploring themes of friendship, loss, hope, and ultimately, renewal”.
Leaning into U2’s classic arena-ready rock hymnal sound, the EP comes fronted by ‘Song For Hal’. With the repeated mantra of “you’re not alone”, the song is described by the band as “a COVID-19 lockdown lament” and dedicated to friend and music-maker, Hal Willner, who would have turned 70 on Easter Monday but passed away almost six years ago to the day.
Meanwhile, the open road anthemics of ‘In a Life’ is designed as “a song celebrating friendship” while the tender ‘Scars’ delivers a message of “encouragement and acceptance” as Bono pines: “All the tyrants that you’ve defeated, the only that’s left is you“.
A Las Vegas Sphere-sized dose of signature U2, ‘Resurrection Song’ comes inspired by “pilgrimage, a road trip into the unknown with a lover or friend” while the seasonal and kaleidoscopic ‘Easter Parade’ offers “a celebration of new life, rebirth and resurrection” over synths and towering Edge guitarwork. Closing track ‘COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?)’ is a sombre, spoken word-led Bon Iver style “lullaby for parents of children caught up in war” aided by soundscape from Brian Eno.
The new EP again comes with a new special digital e-zine edition of U2’s own fanzine Propaganda, featuring lyrics, a piece of producer Jacknife Lee and contributions from the four band members with sleeve notes from The Edge, Adam Clayton on art and the journey of recovery, a conversation between Bono and Franciscan friar Richard Rohr and photographs by Larry Mullen Jr.
The first issue of Propaganda was delivered to U2 fans 40 years ago in February 1986, inspired by “the punk-era D.I.Y. zine culture that embraced attitude, ideas and dialogue”. Check out the new issue here.
The tracklisting for ‘U2 – Easter Lily’ EP is:
‘Song For Hal’
‘In A Life’
‘Scars’
‘Resurrection Song’
‘Easter Parade’
‘COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?)’ – ft. a new soundscape by Brian Eno
As far back as 2024, guitarist The Edge shared that U2’s next record would not be “a straight-up rock thing”. Last summer saw Bono share that he was “ready for the future” with U2, with the band having written “25 great songs” for their new album. Earlier in the year while discussing the writing process, the frontman said that U2 were overcoming the past to make “the sound of the future”.
When asked by US chat show host Jimmy Kimmel how progress on new music – which will mark the follow-up to 2017’s ‘Songs Of Experience’ – was shaping up, Bono responded: “We’ve been in the studio and you’ve sometimes got to deal with the past to get to the present, in order to make the sound of the future. That’s what we want to do.”
He continued: “It’s the sound of four men, who feel like their lives depend on it. I remind them, they do. Nobody needs a new U2 album unless it’s an extraordinary one. I’m feeling very strong about it.”