Entertainment · Music · 5 hrs ago
U2 return with brighter, poppier album ‘Carnaval de Luz’
U2 have released ‘Carnaval de Luz’, their 16th studio album, and their first full-length collection of new songs since 2017.
The album follows 2023’s ‘Songs of Surrender’, which reworked older songs, and two six-track EPs released in 2026.
The record mixes U2’s familiar guitar sound with pop, disco and gospel influences, and includes a song inspired by Spanish singer Rosalía.
One review describes the album as more playful and joyful than the band’s recent work, while another calls it a strong return to form.
Both reviews note that some lyrics and songs do not work as well, including the stadium anthem ‘Can’t Stop Us Now’.
The album’s closing song, ‘Torn’, features vocals recorded by Dolly Parton, whose recent death gives the track added poignancy.
U2 are set to tour again, with four concerts in Spain scheduled for May 2027.
U2 have released ‘Carnaval de Luz’, their sixteenth studio album and first album of all-new material in years.
The 12-track record has a brighter, poppier sound, with songs drawing on disco, gospel and the band’s familiar guitar style.
Both reviews describe the album as a return to form, while noting that some lyrics and songs still feel bombastic.
The album includes ‘The Mirror Maker’, inspired by Rosalía, and ‘Torn’, featuring Dolly Parton’s final recorded vocals.
U2 are set to tour the album, with Spanish dates announced for May 2027.
- Who
- U2, the band comprising Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton.
- What
- The band released ‘Carnaval de Luz’, a 12-track album of new material.
- When
- NME lists the release date as October 13, 2026; El País says it is released on Friday, without giving a date. The sources differ.
- Where
- Not stated
- Why
- Not stated
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
U2 released ‘Songs of Experience’, their previous album of new songs, according to El País.
U2 released ‘Songs of Surrender’, an acoustic reworking of their classic songs, according to El País.
U2 released two six-song EPs with new material, according to El País.
NME lists this as the release date for ‘Carnaval de Luz’.
U2 are scheduled to play Barcelona on May 13 and 15 and Seville on May 22 and 24.
- Album
- ‘Carnaval de Luz’
- Track count
- 12
- Studio album number
- 16th
- Record label
- Island Records
- Barcelona dates
- May 13 and 15, 2027, at Estadi Olímpic
- Seville dates
- May 22 and 24, 2027, at La Cartuja
3 sources
Bono degli U2: “Dolly Parton era malata, si è alzata dal letto per cantare ‘Torn’. Rosalia? Mai sentita, ci siamo solo scritti. Il Carnevale è una perfetta narrazione, si celebra la carne prima della rinuncia”
Crítica de ‘Carnaval de Luz’, de U2: por fin otra vez inspirados, incluso en su rendición a Rosalía
U2 – ‘Carnaval de Luz’ review: brighter, poppier and still a little bit bombastic
What people are saying
Some artists appeal to us and always manage, somehow, to cross through the mirror. They are interested in what is happening behind it. That is why The Mirror Maker was inspired by Rosalía. Patti Smith is another artist of that kind: she is not limited to the physical, but also encompasses the metaphysical.
all of us are better than any of us