U2 – Days Of Ash
In recent years, U2 has mostly been looking back on their career. Their latest album, “Songs of Surrender,” was a not particularly successful project in which old songs were re-recorded. It remains their most pointless release to date. The albums before that, “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience,” were not as bad as many reviews claimed (with the first heavily criticized for being distributed for free on Apple devices), but they weren’t exactly memorable either. In addition, Bono wrote his autobiography, and in 2023 they performed in the Sphere in Las Vegas at exorbitant prices without breathing new life into the old masterpiece “Achtung Baby” (with drummer Larry Mullen Jr. temporarily replaced by Krezip drummer Bram van den Berg). But out of nowhere, a new EP appeared last Wednesday: “Days of Ash,” featuring six new songs. A surprise that was handled much better by the Irish than the release of “Songs of Innocence” in 2014.
For the first time in decades, U2 sounds relevant again. On the six tracks, they directly address the current state of the world—something that could not wait, they stated in the accompanying press release. On the opener and hard-rocking track “American Obituary,” Bono begins with: ‘You have the right to stay silence or not.’ They clearly chose the latter. In the song, featuring a typical The Edge guitar riff, they strike out at the ICE agents responsible for the senseless murder of Renée Good. Musically, it recalls “Until The End of the World” from “Achtung Baby” (1991).
On the austere “The Tears of Things,” Bono reflects on the sad state of the world and the rise of fascism. Meanwhile, “Song of the Future” is a denunciation of the regime in Iran and praises 16-year-old activist Sarina Esmailzadeh. Musically, this evokes “Staring At The Sun” from the 1997 album “Pop,” one of the stronger moments from an album that was then considered the low point of their discography.
The track “Wild Peach” is essentially nothing more than a sound collage as an interlude, but in “One Life At A Time” the critical eye turns to the situation in Israel, honoring activist Awdah Hathaleen. The song fits in the line of U2’s more recent tracks like “Summer of Love” and “Red Flag Day” from “Songs of Experience” (2017).
“Yours Eternally” is a surprising collaboration with Ed Sheeran, but it sounds a little too much like a hit aimed at mainstream radio. Perhaps that is why they enlisted Ed Sheeran. Yet, this song is actually the least interesting track on the EP.
Still, it is commendable that U2 finally speaks out about what is happening in the world. Musically, it is not very surprising, but it is their strongest collection of songs in years. Apparently, the current state of the world was necessary to make Bono and his band realize once again how they can be relevant. (7/10) (Island)
