U2 mark Good Friday with surprise ‘Easter Lily’ EP and provide update on “noisy, messy” new album
U2 have celebrated Good Friday with the surprise release of their new EP, Easter Lily.
The new EP is the second surprise EP of the calendar year for the Irish band after they previously shared Days of Ash to mark Ash Wednesday on February 18th, and now that Lent has come to an end, more music has arisen.
For their last release, U2 tackled the big subject matters, including paying tribute to Renée Good, who was killed by ICE officers in January in Minnesota, and Sarina Esmailzadeh, who was killed in 2022, aged 16, by the Iranian regime.
In contrast, Easter Lily is a “much more reflective set of songs emerging from a more personal, private place that some may retreat to in such times – exploring themes of friendship, loss, hope, and ultimately, renewal,” according to press materials.
The new release consists of six tracks, ‘Song for Hal’, ‘In a Life’, ‘Scars’, ‘Resurrection Song’, ‘Easter Parade’ and ‘Coexist (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?)’.
Meanwhile, ‘Resurrection Song’ is inspired by a “pilgrimage, a road trip into the unknown with a lover or friend,” and Brian Eno offers a helping hand on keys for the closing track on the EP, ‘Coexist (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?)’.
Just like with Days of Ash, U2 have shared a new issue of their long-running Propaganda fanzine, packed with inside information on the making of the new EP, as well as a conversation between Bono and the American priest Richard Rohr.
Additionally, Bono has addressed U2 fans to provide a new update on their next record, writing, “We are in the studio, still working towards a noisy, messy, ‘unreasonably colour xerox’ album to play LIVE… which is where U2 lives.”
Lamenting against the state of the world, he added, 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 also shared of his creative ambition for their latest EP: “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…”
Bono concluded by revealing how U2 honoured Patti Smith with the EP title, sharing that “her 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. 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.”
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