U2 is planning a comeback with its first album of new music in nine years, lead singer Bono told Esquire in a recent interview. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band last released “Songs of Experience” in 2017.
“Everyone in the band seems desperate for it,” Bono said. “It’s like their lives depend on it. … And, as I tell them, they do.”
An album title and release date have not been announced. However, Bono, 65, said in June that one track is tentatively titled “Freedom Is a Feeling.” He also confirmed U2 is reuniting with producer Brian Eno, who previously worked on albums including “The Joshua Tree,” “Achtung Baby” and “Zooropa.”
Guitarist The Edge told BBC Radio 2 that some songs may sound like “some crazy kind of sci-fi Irish folk music.”
“Part of our process is to go so widely away from, off track, and … the process of bringing things back on track is kind of how you get sort of unique sounding music,” The Edge said in November 2024.
The new album is also expected to feature “a bunch of beautiful Irish musicians,” including bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr., who rejoined the band after undergoing surgery in 2023.
U2, a Grammy-winning rock band from Ireland, is known for hits such as “With or Without You,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “Beautiful Day,” “One,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “Pride (In the Name of Love),” “Desire” and “All I Want Is You.” In recent years, the group has reissued albums like “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” and “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” and released 40 reimagined songs on 2023’s “Songs of Surrender.”
The band also made headlines in 2023 and 2024 with an acclaimed residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Bono said the new album could lead to a tour later this year, which marks U2’s 50th anniversary.
“I hope they’re going to still be there for us,” Bono told Esquire, referring to the band’s fans. “We’ve pushed them to their elastic limit over the years. And now it’s a long time that we’ve been away. But I still think that we can create a soundtrack for people who want to take on the world.”