Their second EP of 2026 is a powerful statement of perseverance

Bono and the boys are just full of surprises. Mere weeks after blindsiding fans with the unannounced release of the Days of Ash EP, U2 offer another out-of-nowhere six-track appetiser for a full-length album scheduled to drop in late 2026. But if Days of Ash provided a real-time response to conflicts raging around the world, Easter Lily—named for the seasonal symbol of Irish independence—finds its inspiration closer to home, trading ripped-from-the-headlines topicality for more universal affirmations of faith and perseverance.

After paying tribute to their long-time friend and collaborator Hal Willner (an early victim of the COVID pandemic) on the opening “Song for Hal,” U2 spend the rest of the EP channelling their grief into seize-the-day gusto on songs like “Scars” (whose needling guitar lines and rumbling bass rhythm nod to the band’s post-punk roots) and the aptly titled “Resurrection Song,” a Joshua Tree-climbing anthem that showcases the undiminished spine-tingling power of The Edge’s jagged jangle.

But Easter Lily’s religious rhetoric rings loudest on the EP’s most intimate and eccentric track: On the Bible-quoting avant-gospel closer “COEXIST (I Will Bless the Lord at All Times?)”, Bono sounds less like he’s preaching from the pulpit than hosting an ASMR podcast through Bon Iver’s vocal-manipulation software.