Hallelu2Jah—By Pj And Kelly
The Two Davids, watercolor by Kelly Eddington, 2026.
Hallelu2jah: Our Review of Days of Ash
PJ DeGenaro
Kelly Eddington
Note: Everything in regular print was written by PJ, and everything in italics and indented was written by Kelly.
To begin at the beginning, I have to acknowledge my shock, both mental and physical, at receiving a brand new U2 EP when I wasn't expecting to hear from them for at least another six months. I was at work and I happened to check my personal email, as one does, and there in the middle of the bill reminders and sales pitches and donation asks was “‘U2 - Days of Ash' - Six Track EP Now Released.”
What, may I ask, the fuck?
I had an 11:00 a.m. (CST) dental appointment. I was early for it and looking at my phone in the waiting room. At 10:48, I noticed some rumblings. New U2 music, an EP?, had been prematurely released on iTunes. “It should be ready at the top of the hour on all platforms,” claimed a fellow superfan. Alarmed and excited and annoyed because soon several people would be digging around in my mouth, I took a couple of screenshots and texted them to an unresponsive PJ, who was in the middle of her busy day. And then I was called back to greet my tormentors. At least I had something to think about, but…
What, may I ask, the fuck?
My second thought when I saw the email was “Oh no, Kelly’s at the dentist!” But what we have learned is that U2 doesn’t need four, six, eight or ten years to make a record. They just choose to take long breaks. Which is fine, I guess, except that they made this little thing really fast and it’s really good. Let that be a lesson to them.
Because of reasons, PJ and I knew we’d have to throw our response together and publish this by Sunday night. After listening to DOA (yikes) one time, I had an idea for an illustration that needed to be finished in a day and a half. Most of my super-detailed U2 paintings take a week to complete. Major studio paintings? A couple of months. That is my choice. I was working on something else this week, but here was a drop everything, all hands on deck situation. I painted the above little thing really fast, and I hope you think it’s really good.
Note: The painting is superb. DOA! Well, it’s easier to type than ATYCLB. Should we get into it?
Let’s!
American Obituary
First of all, fuck ICE. They were never supposed to be Trump’s private stormtroopers, nor should they be able to serve as judge, jury and executioner of anyone in the United States, citizen or not. Okay, let me climb off my soapbox…
I dunno, you might want to keep it handy.
Lots of EDGE: I’ve been waiting forever for Edge to put himself out there again. I don’t know exactly what he’s doing or how he does it, but his playing just feels right to my brain and heart. I wrote a birthday poem for him a few years back called “I Want It Louder,” and then I felt shitty about it, because I love these men and I don’t like fans who give orders. “Why don’t you ever talk about this? Why don’t you ever play that?” They’re human beings, dammit! But what a thrill to hear Edge go full throttle. His playing is my second most favorite sound in the world, after Bono’s voice.
Given the song’s title and subject, we had every reason to expect something quiet and slow along the lines of “The Hands That Built America,” but how many of us gasped with delight when we heard those opening chords? It’s an “American Soul” kind of song—an “American Idiot” kind of song!—except it’s better than all three of them.
It is better! And Bono’s voice is superb. When he goes into the higher registers (“America will rise against the people of the lie”) he sounds a little like John Lennon, whose voice I also loved. Oh, and the way he lets his voice break on the word “break” when he sings about heartbreak…
Ooh, you’re so right about John Lennon. Side note: by some miracle, my U2-resenting husband Jeff listened to this one on his own. “I think they chose ‘American lie’ because it also sounds like ‘American right,’” he said, and I was proud of him.
Tell Jeff I thought the same thing initially! And, “The power of the people is so much stronger than the people in power.” I want to believe. You know how they say there are no atheists in a foxhole? I think there are no cynics listening to U2 records. You can get back to normal as soon as it’s over, and you can even think Bono’s platitudes are goofy, but while you’re in it and singing along, you BELIEVE.
Except for Jeff, usually, but on rare occasions also Jeff.
“I love you more than hate loves war.” U2, I love you more than madness – a line I got from Bob Dylan by way of Patti Smith.
The Tears of Things
This is my favorite song on the EP, for a number of reasons. I’d love to know if anyone agrees with me that it evokes Leonard Cohen, in content and in structure. LC has written a rather famous song about King David, but it’s more than just that. This is the first U2 song that has really made my jaw drop since “Book Of Your Heart.”
Hard same to all of that. It’s totally Cohen-coded, and I can imagine David Bowie’s voice singing it, too. Look, I had to pull a painting out of thin air, so PJ is doing the heavy lifting with the writing this time. But I totally agree with her. It’s a stunner.
Your painting is the thing that will get social media approval. My blathering, not so much. And oof, I could probably write an essay about this song alone: Michelangelo releasing David from a single block of marble, which is a miracle when you think about it, and God creating the actual David to be “an instrument of melody and word.”
From U2 Or Bust. Needing to get this out of my system, I painted classical portrait sculptures that reminded me of all of them.
Over the years I’ve compared Bono to Michelangelo’s David several times based on resemblance alone. I even painted a replica of the head to look like War-era Bono. But there’s so much more to it than that. “The Tears of Things” brought me to my knees.
When I heard the line “six million voices silenced in just four years” I burst into tears. I really did.
[clings to Peej]
It has become an extreme rarity in the last few years for any musical personality – let alone an Irish one – to acknowledge the humanity of the Jewish people separate from the current government in Israel. Read the interview with Bono in Propaganda.*
And the drums, and EDGE coming in just before the four-minute mark. Incredible. Not a solo but a crescendo.
It’s beautiful and complex and layered. I am one of those people who think the very best works of art are alive in some way. This lyric is among Bono’s most imaginative, and his delivery is so empathetic I freaking believe his voice is the sculpture of David singing to us.
*About Propaganda: How fun is it that they resurrected the old ‘zine for this project? Obviously I love Bono’s interview. Seems to me they gave Edge the role of “heavy,” having him write the opening manifesto. Then we got charming updates from Larry and Adam!
Song of the Future
This song is amazingly catchy and upbeat, which I did not expect, because like “American Obituary,” it’s a song about a government mowing down its own citizens. On the other hand, if you mean to capture the energy of a movement led by young women, catchy and upbeat is the way to go! “Sarina, Sarina, she’s the song of the future” is a punchy counterpoint to “Here she comes, surreal in her crown.” (World-weary sigh.)
Yes. The chorus became the EP’s first ear worm for me. It’s sing-songy in an appropriately youthful, girlish way.
As far as I am aware, U2 are so far the only artists to have made any kind of statement about Iran. Not to get “political,” but I think what’s happening there knocks the oppressor/oppressed narrative on its ass. Here’s a country whose population wants to be part of the wider world, but is crushed again and again by its theocratic government. Color and faith are irrelevant. The world has memory-holed several recent struggles (Hong Kong, Myanmar, Sudan). We ought to be able to focus on more than just one thing.
Keep running your mouth off, Bono.
Wildpeace
Yehuda Amichai (1924 - 2000) was a major Israeli poet. His name, which he chose for himself (like Bono or Edge or Guggi) translates to something like “Jewish Person, My Nation Lives.” I love that U2 included this poem, and that Nigerian artist Adeola Fayehun read it. Her voice is beautiful. This is more of a Jackknife Lee song than a U2 song, but that's okay. It's a thoughtful interlude. Peace is not being made or forced, but settling slowly over a field like dandelion seeds.
What a lovely thought. Sometimes the shape of an album is easy to visualize, and I see “Wildpeace” as a straight vertical line that divides Days of Ash in half, roughly, like the Barricage divided the I+e crowds into north and south sides.
Yes!
One Life at a Time
This song is simply gorgeous. It’s my second favorite after “Tears.”
Really? For me it’s the least memorable. Even after sitting with these new songs for a few days, I still find myself struggling to recall the most basic components here, except for Edge’s tear-inducing solo. It’s one of U2’s list songs—aphorisms and questions—and for whatever reason it’s not sticking with me. Please change my mind, PJ!
I don’t want to change your mind! It’s fine if songs hit different people differently. I have to admit I was dreading this one, but I think it asks questions that should be asked. “Perfect love drives out all fear, how’s that gonna happen here?” That’s one for the entire world. It’s hard for me to tamp down my feelings about this situation but I appreciate anyone who brings a reasonable voice to the table.
What might be missing for you is a hook. I’m not good at describing music or what it does to me, but I’ll try: The song builds, and there’s an urgency in Bono’s voice and in the bassline and the drums when they appear. Edge’s guitar underscores every line Bono sings — that call-and-response thing they do. There are two main arguments (refrains? choruses?): “You say you wanna save the world?” and “One life at a time.” Maybe that makes the song feel unbalanced or unstructured. If you were raised Jewish or Muslim, you might hear something familiar in the way the voices blend and soar in the “one life at a time” sections. Like they’re echoing over a desert landscape. I don’t know, but it hangs together for me, somehow. It’s haunting.
I think it goes without saying that we’ve missed U2 profoundly, especially since many of us have been living in a constant state of fight-or-flight for well over a year. This release was like a long-lost friend appearing unannounced at my doorstep, and I can’t keep up with what they’re saying because I’m overwhelmed by their mere presence. Jesus Christ, U2, it’s so good just to hear your voices again! How are you? You must be tired. Are you hungry? Are those ashes on your foreheads? And look at you! Your faces, your eyes!
Yours Eternally
In terms of music, I find this song slightly less interesting than the others, but the video made me like it better. It sounds a bit like “Get Out Of Your Own Way” from SOE — that same sense of uplift and encouragement.
Or “Love Is Bigger.”
Yes! I generally dislike extra voices on U2 songs (you have Bono and Edge, why mess with perfection?) but I’ll make an exception for Taras Topolia of Antytila. Ed Sheeran is another story, but I’m not even sure I can hear him here.
I agree. He’s in there, but not in an obnoxious way. I can absolutely imagine Bono bumping into him and whimsically inviting him to be part of the song. And how could young Ed refuse?
He couldn’t possibly! So I took a crash course (watched a video) on Ukrainian string instruments to figure out what the guitar sounds like, beginning at about 35 seconds in. A kobza? Maybe. It’s a sweet sound, like sugar in hot tea. There can never be too much Edge in a U2 song.
I love that you did actual research for this.
Yes. I did entire minutes of research.
As an American, I continue to be dismayed that my country isn’t throwing its full support behind Ukraine. There are many reasons for this and none of them are good. Ukraine is basically defending all of Europe right now and I just do not understand how this isn’t a bigger issue for anyone who values democracy.
But this song ends the EP on a hopeful note. “Dream about waking up free, as free as we can be.”
It’s a bookend song for “White As Snow,” I think, even though it’s diametrically more upbeat. Maybe it’s deceptively (defiantly) joyful—the words of a soldier putting on a brave face for the people at home, or wherever they’ve escaped to. He’s sparing them the grim details.
But you’re right: the EP ends on a hopeful note, and we’ll have those words to hold onto until our friends show up again. When they said goodbye on Wednesday, they promised they’d return later “this year.” In the past, they’ve been unreliable about that kind of thing, but this time I choose to believe them.