U2 Breaks "Silencio" With New LP; Final Parton Recording Closes Set

(Viviane Sassen)

U2’s new album, Carnaval de Luz—“a messy, provocative, sacred collection of songs,” according to The Edge—will arrive Nov. 13 on Interscope.

The 12-track set, U2’s first in nine years, was introduced with the 155-second rocker “Silencio” and a video filmed in Mexico City by Pasqual Gutiérrez and Raúl "RJ" Sanchez of Cliqua.

Made concurrently with U2’s surprise 2026 EPs Days of Ash and Easter Lily, Carnaval de Luz is said to explore spirituality, freedom, endurance and friendship “in the face of dark, encroaching forces.” Familiar collaborators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois are both present, as are such new faces as Martin Garrix and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder.

But the most headline-grabbing name is Dolly Parton, whose contribution to album closer “Torn” is said to be the final vocal recorded before her death last month at age 80. Penned by U2 with Parton and Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid, it concerns “broken family ties that hold wider resonances.”

“There will be loud guitars, deep bass, some ecstatic rhythms and, yes, some silver tears will make an appearance,” Bono said with his customary flair. “’Cause in the near distance just outside our carnival of light there are all kinds of creatures. The same imagination that brings us our creativity can also bring us monsters. So we make the drums louder. We build a bigger fire. We make our stories wilder and funnier. We make the melodies sweeter and the songs, they better shine, because if the world is in darkness, we better not be.”

As noted previously, the Full Stop-managed band—Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton—will be honored as MusiCares’ Persons of the Year at a Feb. 5 ceremony in Los Angeles.

A 2027 tour is widely expected.