Bono has told fans that U2 are “still working towards” an album. Find all the details below.
The band have long been thought to be working in the studio on their 15th album, but surprised fans with the release of their new six-song EP ‘Easter Lily’ today, on Good Friday (April 3). It follows up on February’s ‘Days Of Ash’ EP, which was similarly released to coincide with a seasonal religious milestone, Ash Wednesday.
Now, Bono has assured fans that the band are still planning on releasing an album, despite sharing the two EPs first.
“We are in the studio, still working towards a noisy, messy, ‘unreasonably colour xerox’ album to play LIVE… which is where U2 lives,” he said in a statement shared to X today.
“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 went on to say that the ‘Easter Lily’ EP was a result of the band asking themselves “very personal questions”, such as: “Are our own relationships up to these challenging times? How hard do you fight for friendship?
U2. Credit: Anton Corbijn
“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,” Bono continued. “I wasn’t yet 18. The title is a nod to her.”
He wrapped up the post, writing: “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.”
A note to U2’s audience from Bono:
“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.… pic.twitter.com/wnLl9cFkQS
— U2 (@U2) April 3, 2026
The band have been teasing a new album as far back as 2024, when The Edge said that it would not be “a straight-up rock thing”, while last summer, Bono shared that he was “ready for the future” with U2, with the band having written “25 great songs”. Earlier this year, while discussing the writing process, the frontman said that U2 were overcoming the past to make “the sound of the future”.
When asked by US chat show host Jimmy Kimmel how progress on new music – which will mark the follow-up to 2017’s ‘Songs Of Experience’ – was shaping up, Bono responded: “We’ve been in the studio and you’ve sometimes got to deal with the past to get to the present, in order to make the sound of the future. That’s what we want to do.”
He continued: “It’s the sound of four men, who feel like their lives depend on it. I remind them, they do. Nobody needs a new U2 album unless it’s an extraordinary one. I’m feeling very strong about it.”
In a new digital e-zine edition of their long-running Propaganda fanzine shared today, The Edge also explained to fans why the band ultimately decided to release this group of songs as a separate project.
“We wrote some songs meant for our album but they started to assert themselves in some unexpected ways, demanding special attention,” he explained. “Their own devotional world, suggesting they didn’t feel part of our album.”
“So we folded … agreed to their timeline … which was Easter … 40 days after Ash Wednesday … the songs are the boss, you have to do what they say or they’ll abandon you for someone else.”
The post Bono says U2 are “still working towards a noisy, messy, ‘unreasonably colour xerox’ album to play LIVE” appeared first on NME.
