U2 | Days of Ash Review

by Griff Stevens

Released on 18 February 2026 through Island Records, Days of Ash finds U2, Bono on lead vocals, The Edge on guitar and backing vocals, Adam Clayton on bass guitar, and Larry Mullen Jr. on drums, working within the concentrated scale of a six-track EP produced by Jacknife Lee. At 23 minutes and 30 seconds, the record establishes and sustains a contained structural environment. From the opening measures of “American Obituary” through the closing cadence of “Yours Eternally (feat. Ed Sheeran & Taras Topolia),” the EP holds to a unified tonal field, a measured tempo band, and a disciplined dynamic ceiling. Its arc favors continuity with subtle color contrast.

“American Obituary” immediately sets the parameters. The Edge’s midrange-forward guitar tone settles into rock grit gravity, anchored by Clayton’s rounded, centered bass and Mullen’s consistent pulse. As the chorus expands with thicker layering and reinforced vocal presence from Bono, the harmony does not pivot toward major lift. The build intensifies through accumulation with added guitar texture, fuller rhythmic weight from the rhythm section, allowing the tonal climate to remain stable.

“The Tears of Things” sustains this alignment as well. The instrumental balance remains centered with rounded bass and guitar textures restrained rather than brightened. The tempo classification holds steady. Its chorus brings in more vocal stacking and density, but the amplitude does not exceed the ceiling established in the opener. The track expands within the same structural perimeter rather than redefining it.

In “Song of the Future,” density increases again as layered guitars stack above the rhythm bed and percussion thickens beneath, particularly in the chorus. The rock orientation persists, and the moderate pulse does not accelerate. Momentum builds through added texture and doubled vocal presence instead of energy through speed or harmonic shifts. The dynamic crest is consistent with what has preceded it. At no point does the EP reset its own scale.

The interlude “Wildpeace,” at 1:18, compresses duration and thins the arrangement, but its subdued atmospheric harmonic language remains consistent with the established tonal gravity. Its pacing aligns with the surrounding tracks, and its placement functions as connective tissue rather than a contrast device. The reduction in density to spoken words preserves atmosphere and builds a flow to the next track.

“One Life at a Time,” the longest track at 5:25, extends runtime without altering the project’s boundaries. The gradual addition of layered guitars and reinforced rhythm heightens intensity, yet tempo remains moderate, and the harmonic center does not brighten. The build resolves within the same amplitude frame defined earlier; duration expands. The structure of the song continues the mood and energy of the EP’s flow.

The closer, “Yours Eternally (feat. Ed Sheeran & Taras Topolia),” integrates guest vocals into this established field. As Sheeran and Topolia layer alongside Bono, the vocal timbre widens, as the harmonic framework remains centered and the pulse steady under Mullen’s drums. The added voices expand color rather than structural parameters, and the dynamic crest remains inside the EP’s fixed ceiling.

Across the full 23:30 runtime, there is no fast-versus-slow polarity, no harmonic outlier, no dynamic rupture that forces reorientation. Each track introduces micro-variations with thicker guitar layering, doubled vocals, and denser drums and bass. These shifts occur within a stable macro-architecture. Jacknife Lee’s production preserves a consistent mixture of acoustic instrumentation and programmed elements, and mixing variation never fractures cohesion.

Days of Ash sustains immersion via disciplined continuity of a single architectural space maintained without rupture across its full 23-minute span.

 

 

Artist: U2
Album: Days of Ash
Label: Island Records

Buy and Stream Links
Release Date: February 18, 2026