U2 has quietly released another surprise project, dropping their six-track EP Easter Lily on April 3 – to coincide with Good Friday. The new project follows closely behind the release of Days Of Ash, a surprise EP the band shared on Ash Wednesday.
While Days Of Ash leaned into global tensions, Easter Lily shifts focus to more intimate territory—exploring friendship, faith, loss, and renewal. In a message to listeners. The project opens with “Song for Hal,” a tribute to late producer Hal Willner, featuring The Edge on lead vocals. Other tracks, including “In a Life” and “Scars,” examine the strength and strain of personal relationships, while “Resurrection Song” and the title track draw on themes of spirituality and rebirth. The closing piece, “COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?),” incorporates a soundscape by longtime collaborator Brian Eno.
Bono shared of the EP: “We are in the studio, still working towards a noisy, messy, “unreasonably colorful” 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. 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 meet the moment… 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… Patti Smith’s 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.”
The release is also paired with a new digital edition of the band’s long-running Propaganda fanzine, featuring behind-the-scenes photography from Larry Mullen Jr. and reflections from Adam Clayton, along with essays that echo the EP’s introspective tone.
Listen to ‘Song for Hal’ – HERE.
Stream the EP Easter Lily: HERE.
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