It’s springtime for U2 fans. Last week saw the release of their first new music in nine years, in the shape of a six-song EP, Days Of Ash. Now they’ve shared the short film that accompanies one of those tracks, Yours Eternally.
As with the other tracks on the EP, Yours Eternally – which features a guesting Ed Sheeran - has a political theme. It’s written from the point of view of a Ukrainian soldier and indeed the video, made by the filmmaker Ilya Mikhaylus, features footage of soldiers on the frontline of the war against Russia, which, of course, started four years ago today (February 24). It is part of a longer documentary, which is set to be released before the end of this year.
Mikhaylus has said of the video: “For four years, Ukraine has been resisting Russia’s full-scale invasion, and the soldiers of the Khartiya Corps are among the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians defending their homeland."
“In this short film, and in the upcoming full-length documentary, we attempt to show the beating human heart of those incredible men and women, the struggles and sacrifices they are making everyday for the most sacred thing on this planet – freedom.”
Days Of Ash came out last Wednesday (on Ash Wednesday, you see..) and includes tracks inspired by the Israel-Palestine conflict and the Trump administration’s controversial ICE crackdown on migrants. But in a new interview with the U2 fanzine Propaganda, Bono has said not to expect any of its tracks to be included on the new album the band are currently working on.
“There’s a lot more than 25 songs in the works,” the singer explained. “But I’d say about 25 are worth considering for U2 projects in the next few years. The album contenders are very different in mood and theme than the ones we’ve chosen to put out on the EP. More songs of celebration than lamentation…more of a defiantly joyful kind of feel to take on these anxious times…almost a carnival vibe.”
“You can only kick at the darkness for so long,” he points out. “We’re going to try and make the light brighter real soon… We’re going try finding it in each other and our fans. We’re gonna try to find that carnival atmosphere in our audience, where hopefully we can both show each other not just where we are at but where we want to be at…Serious fun is required. We can’t always be letting the bad news drown out the good news.”
As for when we might expect that new album, Propaganda merely suggested that it’s “not far behind.”
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