U2 - Easter Lily

"We keep looking to vivid rock and roll as an act of resistance against all this horror we see on our little screens." So says Bono Vox in a statement released as spokesperson for the U2, explaining the need for "Easter Lily," the second EP surprise-released by the Irish band on April 3, 2026 - or rather, on Good Friday. It's a choice in keeping with the group's Easter-themed approach, having already surprise-released a first EP, "Days Of Ash," on February 18, that is, Ash Wednesday.

The title immediately brings something else to mind too: a heartfelt tribute to Patti Smith and one of her masterpieces, as Bono himself explains: "Her album 'Easter' gave me so much hope when it came out in 1978. I wasn't even 18 yet." And further: "With 'Easter Lily' we asked ourselves some very personal questions: Do our relationships hold up in these hard times? How hard do we fight for friendship? Can our faith survive the distortion of meaning that those algorithms love to reward? Is all religion garbage that keeps destroying us? Or can answers be found in its cracks? Are there ceremonies, rituals, dances that we're missing in our lives?"

If the thematic premises underlying the six songs on U2's second EP of the year are as spiritual as they are existential, the music once again points to an unexpected rebirth. Starting with The Edge's guitar in the opening moments of "Song For Hal," which sounds like it could have come straight out of the band's best years. The first song on "Easter Lily" is dedicated to Hal Willner, the longtime U2 collaborator who died in 2020 from Covid complications. It's a deeply felt, at times epic tribute, preceding the equally accomplished "In A Life," which was also very likely pulled from a drawer of memories kept shut for far too long.

U2 really do seem reborn, at least in part and without grandiose claims, especially considering the melodic strength and the absence of crowd-pleasing formulas that set this apart from everything they've done recently and beyond. It's as if they've rediscovered the heart and body to voice their dissent against a shameful era, overflowing with obscenity and political choices that are simply insane and inhuman. "Resurrection Song" ties, right from its title, to a feeling of hope, a search for a possible paradise. The Edge is by far the most inspired of the four, weaving patterns once again worthy of his reputation.

Brian Eno also makes a welcome reappearance on the closing "Coexist (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?)"," and just the track's intro is enough to tell, before Bono starts delivering his latest sermon in the guise of the lost preacher, amid children and mothers to bless and drones circling with no awareness whatsoever. It's a dirge over an ambient backdrop, conceived as a prayer, that fittingly closes out a solid EP produced by Jacknife Lee. Without a doubt the best run of songs the four of them have put together in twenty years. Sorry, not sorry.

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10/04/2026