Almost a decade on from their last album of original material, and U2 has been overwhelmed by a desire to create. Gone are the unnecessary covers of their own work, the reflective biographies, and the constant tease of new material. 2026 has been a productive year for the Bono-fronted band. Days of Ash felt like a tease of promising new material, and the band’s latest album, Carnaval De Luz, makes good on that. Strong singles, a fiftieth anniversary that the band has rallied around in such cool fashion, and there’s a sense that U2 may, indeed, be set to put on the greatest show on earth. They’d better, considering it’s the title of their tour. Still, there’s a confidence brewing within U2 as a musical unit that hasn’t hummed quite this strongly for years. The stars have aligned for Bono and friends and it’s a welcome return to form for a band whose legacy has been enough for them to coast on. There were always doubts for the next generation of U2 fans. Could they put out another classic? Carnaval De Luz answers that question with a confident “yeah, sure.”
Classy, catchy material is what Carnaval De Luz offers. This carnival of light has lit a fire under Bono and the band who, for the first time in decades, sound as though they have something to prove. Opening track Go stops short of an instrumental blowout but it sounds as though The Edge is building towards that, and he does so on follow-up song, La Reina. Quality riffs from The Edge here, nothing too challenging but enough of an overhaul of U2’s sound to give Bono new instrumentals to work with. He sounds fantastic on La Reina. U2 comes together brilliantly across Carnaval De Luz, and that’s to the credit of Jacknife Lee. He oversees a warm, rich sound for the band and brings them back to the personable points that made How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb so effective. Bono and the band are pitching themselves as an act responsible for escapism from dark times, while simultaneously testing the waters of what it means to be active and aware of the world around us in such a desperate age.
Songs like The Mirror Maker and If the World Is at War We Better Not Be are striking, well-placed commentaries on the world around us, just not as intimate or poised as Bono would have been a decade ago. He wants to cause a fuss without the head-on collision that comes from taking a stand. It works to an extent, and it never detracts from the musicality. But it sounds, at times, that U2 are building the foundations of a wider comment that never comes. It’s a lot of the generalised hurt and hopes that Bono guides the band through, and it becomes a touch unconvincing. There’s enough instrumental variation and newness to the band’s sound that these lighter, lesser messages can be overlooked. Bono is a man of extremes. He can either run through the core of a meaning or leave it well alone. It’s interesting to hear him try and balance that with Carnaval De Luz, and for the most part, it works.
That’s, of course, thanks to The Edge and company, whose instrumental efforts here are nothing short of fantastic. These are songs not tailor-made for the stadium tour but are certainly going to fill the rooms with a warmth rarely felt at those huge gigs. Superficiality has that classic guitar strength from The Edge, and with a groovy bassline from Adam Clayton, there’s a lot to love about those ties to the band’s best material. Bono here is in exceptional form, strong wordplay that leans into that commentary on the consequences of the modern day. That’s where the band find themselves in the best form, and there’s plenty of those thrills, as ham-fisted and occasionally short-sighted as they can be. The effort and honesty are there, at the very least. Superficiality is the best of it, an introspective and soul-searching experience from the band there.
Given the singles and the instrumental style they represent, it’s a welcome change of pace to hear the stripped-back If the World is at War We Better Not Be, a song where Bono is effectively isolated and given a chance to get that wannabe preacher man feeling out of his system. A solid offering all the same, just not where the band’s strength lies. Silencio is what they do best, a rocked-out, spirited, punk-adjacent thrill ride that builds nicely into The Greatest Show on Earth. Carnavel De Luz isn’t just Bono and the band toying with the idea of political notions, there’s some deeply personable and wonderful songwriting choices delivered on Glorify. Striking acoustic guitar work is what separates it from the rest of the album, with that breakdown of a relationship and the ongoing love that burns through Bono here enough to make it a real standout.
U2 has made a triumphant return to quality, sure. They lowered the bar of their work so far that putting together a song that doesn’t make you tear out your greying, frayed hair, is a success. But to be fair to the band, fifty years into their career and releasing an album of real quality, it’s a welcome surprise. Carnaval De Luz has reigned in what made U2 such an insufferable listening experience the last few albums. They’ve returned to their roots. Part of that in the obvious, such as performing at the school they formed, but there are some subtle changes to their outlook. How the band writes music, no longer in the afterglow of pop sensationalism, is now defined by some classy and quick-witted punches against the world around us. Midnight Sunshine is full of those. Bunker-dwelling wise-cracks that purposely miss the point of these dangerous times. Tie it all up with a Dolly Parton feature and U2 has their best album in decades. Carnaval De Luz is a welcome return to form.
Discover more from Cult Following
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
