Rock
U2 drop surprise Good Friday EP as Bono teases 'noisy, messy' new album still to come
U2 have marked Good Friday with a surprise new EP, as Bono promises their next album will be a loud, chaotic return to full‑throttle rock.
U2 have delivered an Easter treat in the form of new EP Easter Lily this Good Friday (03.04.26).
The new release continues their run of surprise religious‑calendar releases while they grind away at what Bono is calling a “noisy, messy” new album.
The Good Friday drop lands barely a month after their Ash Wednesday (18.02.26), Days of Ash, release, forming another short burst of new material from the band as they continue chipping away at their next full‑length record.
Bono marked the release with a lengthy statement hinting at the chaotic, full‑volume direction of the next album, writing on X: "We are in the studio, still working towards a noisy, messy, 'unreasonably colour xerox’ album to play LIVE… which is where U2 lives. We still look to vivid rock n roll as an act of resistance against all this awfulness on our small screens. These are for sure ‘wilderness years’ for so many of us looking at the mayhem out there in the world. It’s a time that has our band digging deeper into our lives to find a wellspring of songs to try to meet the moment…"
He explained that Easter Lily pushed the band into unexpectedly intimate territory, adding: "With Easter Lily we ended up asking very personal questions like: Are our own relationships up to these challenging times? How hard do you fight for friendship? Can our faith survive the mangling of meaning that those algorithms love to reward? Is all religion rubbish and still ripping us apart…? Or are there answers to find in its crevices? Are there ceremonies, rituals, dances that we might be missing in our lives? From the rite of Spring to Easter and its promise of rebirth and renewal… Patti Smith’s album Easter gave me so much hope when it was released in 1978. I wasn’t yet 18. The title is a nod to her."
Bono hinted that the band will save the big promotional push for later, telling fans: "We will attempt hoopla and fanfare at a later date to remind the rest of the world we exist but in the meantime… this is between you and us."
