The Irish band U2 has once again given their fans a surprise work this Easter with the release of the EP ‘Easter Lily’, which includes six new songs and a digital edition of their fanzine ‘Propaganda’.
This is the second collection of new material presented this year, following the release of the ‘Days of Ash’ EP last February and as the Dublin quartet continues with the recording of their long-awaited new studio album.
Both EPs come after a long period of silence from U2 – whose last album of original material ‘Songs of Surrender’ dates back to a distant 2017 – and a recovery period for their drummer Larry Mullen Jr, who underwent neck and back surgery in 2023.
While ‘Days of Ash’ addressed “the chaotic times of the world around us,” ‘Easter Lily’ starts from an intimate and more reflective place that some may retreat to in times like these, with themes of “friendship, loss, hope and, ultimately, renewal,” the band explains in a statement.
As a novelty, Bono lets guitarist The Edge take the lead with the track that opens this EP, ‘Song for Hal’, composed as a “lament” about the confinement by the Covid and remembrance of producer and friend of the band Hal Willner, who passed away six years ago.
Other songs like ‘In a Life’ celebrates friendship; ‘Scars’ speaks of “motivation and acceptance” and ‘Resurrection Song’ delves into “a road trip into the unknown with a love or a friend.”
And in a nod to the spirituality of Easter, U2 calls ‘Easter Parade’ a “devotional” track, welcoming “new life, rebirth and resurrection”, while ‘COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?)’ is a lullaby for parents of children caught up in war.
Bono reveals in the note that the title of this new EP is a little homage to Patti Smith’s ‘Easter’ album: “it gave me so much hope when it was released in 1978. I wasn’t even 18 yet”.
He also sent a message to fans who are impatiently awaiting their next studio album, which he described as “loud, messy and colorful,” a work, he promised, designed to be played live, “which is where U2 feels at home,” reported Agencia EFE.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.
