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U2 Surprise-Releases 'Days of Ash,' a Six-Track Political EP

The Ash Wednesday drop frames urgent protest pieces as a standalone statement ahead of a more celebratory studio album due later in 2026.

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U2's "Days of Ash" EP, released Feb. 18, 2026, was designed to drop on Ash Wednesday.
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U2 perform in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 8, 2019.

Overview

  • Now streaming with lyric videos, the EP features five new songs and a poem that confront U.S. immigration enforcement, Iran’s 2022 protests, Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, and Russia’s war on Ukraine.
  • 'American Obituary' is dedicated to Renée Good, killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis in January, while other tracks honor Iranian teenager Sarina Esmailzadeh and Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen.
  • 'Yours Eternally' includes Ed Sheeran and Ukrainian musician-soldier Taras Topolia, with a short documentary slated for February 24 to mark the invasion’s anniversary.
  • The release revives U2’s Propaganda as a 52-page digital edition with interviews, lyrics, and notes, and includes the poem 'Wildpeace' read by Nigerian artist Adeola over music by U2 and producer Jacknife Lee.
  • Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. returned to the studio for these recordings, and the band says these politically charged tracks are separate from a fuller, more joyful album planned for later in 2026.