'Easter Lily' was a second surprise EP in six weeks, dropping on Good Friday, April 3rd, just six weeks after Days of Ash - a pair of CD's bookending the Christian season of Lent.
While the 'Days of Ash' EP was a response to chaotic times in the outside world, the 'Easter Lily' EP is a more reflective set of songs emerging from a more personal, private place that some may retreat to in such times – exploring themes of friendship, loss, hope, and ultimately, renewal.
Song for Hal is a COVID-19 lockdown lament, with The Edge on lead vocals, written for the band's friend, the music-maker, Hal Willner, who would have turned 70 a few days later on Easter Monday and passed away almost 6 years ago to the day. In a Life is a song celebrating friendship. Scars is a song of encouragement and acceptance; scars and all, with a twist. Resurrection Song is about pilgrimage, a road trip into the unknown with a lover or friend. Easter Parade is a devotional song, a celebration of new life, rebirth and resurrection. COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?) is a lullaby for parents of children caught up in war, featuring a soundscape by Brian Eno.
In a note to the band's audience, Bono said: "We are in the studio, still working towards a noisy, messy, 'unreasonably colourful' album to play LIVE… which is where U2 lives. We still look to vivid rock n roll as an act of resistance against all this awfulness on our small screens. These are for sure 'wilderness years' for so many of us looking at the mayhem out there in the world.
'It's a time that has our band digging deeper into our lives to find a wellspring of songs to try meet the moment… With Easter Lily we ended up asking very personal questions like: Are our own relationships up to these challenging times? How hard do you fight for friendship? Can our faith survive the mangling of meaning that those algorithms love to reward? Is all religion rubbish and still ripping us apart…? Or are there answers to find in its crevices? Are there ceremonies, rituals, dances that we might be missing in our lives? From the rite of Spring to Easter and its promise of rebirth and renewal… Patti Smith's album Easter gave me so much hope when it was released in 1978. I wasn't yet 18. The title is a nod to her.
'We will attempt hoopla and fanfare at a later date to remind the rest of the world we exist but in the meantime… this is between you and us.'
The U2 Easter Lily EP was accompanied by another surprise edition of'Propaganda' as a digital zine, six weeks after the last issue which was… forty years after the first issue of 'Propaganda' The 52-page special publication included contributions from all four band members including sleeve notes from The Edge; Adam Clayton on art and the journey of recovery; a conversation between Bono and Franciscan friar Richard Rohr; and in-the-studio photographs shot by Larry Mullen Jr. The e-zine also featured song lyrics along with an interview with the band's producer, Jacknife Lee and a piece on Hal Willner by his friend Gavin Friday.
