As expected, U2 is marking 50 years as a band with its first album of new material in nine years. The group announced Carnaval De Luz, a 12-track set due Nov. 13 via Interscope, alongside the arrival of the new single “Silencio” and its Mexico City-shot video. It was directed by Cliqua, the Mexican-American duo of Pasqual Gutiérrez and Raúl “RJ” Sanchez.
As previously reported, U2 signaled a new creative chapter this year with the surprise releases of the six-track EPs Days of Ash and Easter Lily. Those projects were recorded during the same period as Carnaval De Luz, which completes what the band describes as a sequence tied to the liturgical calendar: Lent, Easter and now Carnival.
Produced by Jacknife Lee, Carnaval De Luz finds Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. continuing to explore themes of spirituality, friendship, freedom and perseverance against “dark, encroaching forces.” The album combines some of U2’s more experimental impulses with comparatively direct songwriting on tracks including “The Greatest Show on Earth,” “Glorify” and “Midnight Sunshine.”
“Silencio,” meanwhile, is a brisk 2:35 blast of early surf/punk attitude, with additional production from OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder. The Edge describes the album as “a messy, provocative, sacred collection of songs,” while noting that it marks U2’s first recorded use of flat-wound strings. The album also features contributions from longtime collaborator Brian Eno, who co-wrote and played synthesizers on “Go (Carnaval De Luz),” “The Greatest Show on Earth” and “Can’t Stop Us Now”; Martin Garrix, who co-wrote “Glorify”; and Daniel Lanois, who adds pedal steel to “Torn.”
That closing track carries particular significance. “Torn” is a duet between Bono and the late Dolly Parton, and, according to the announcement, marks Parton’s final recorded vocal performance. Co-written by U2, Parton and Johnny McDaid, the country-leaning song addresses fractured family relationships.
The album arrives exactly 50 years after Mullen posted a handwritten notice at Dublin’s Mount Temple Comprehensive School seeking musicians to form a band and follows this year’s pair of surprise companion EPs, Days of Ash and Easter Lily. U2 is widely expected to tour in 2027 but no dates have yet been announced. The group will be honored as MusiCares Persons of the Year during a tribute concert and ceremony on Feb. 5 at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, two days before the Grammy Awards.
Here is the track list for Carnaval De Luz:
Go (Carnaval De Luz)
La Reina
Street of Dreams
The Mirror Maker (Rosalía)
Superficiality
If The World Is At War We Better Not Be
Silencio
The Greatest Show on Earth
Glorify
Midnight Sunshine
Can’t Stop Us Now
Torn (Feat. Dolly Parton)
