U2 on Dolly Parton's final duet; and the 'grudge match' behind their new album

U2 are at their best when they act on instinct.

Their biggest songs are fuelled by fiery indignation (Pride, Sunday Bloody Sunday) or sudden inspiration (One, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own).

When they overthink, they misfire. An attempt to marry grunge and hip-hop on the 2006 single Get On Your Boots was, in the words of drummer Larry Mullen Jr, "a catastrophic choice".

So it was a good sign when, at the start of 2026, the band rushed out two EPs of new music, ripped from the headlines of a world in turmoil.

The first, Days of Ash, was urgent and angry – addressing the shooting of US citizen Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer; and the death of Palestinian activist Odeh Hathaleenm…