U2 announce ‘Carnaval de Luz,’ with Dolly Parton’s final recorded performance
The Irish band’s first album of new material in nearly a decade arrives November 13 and closes with “Torn,” a duet between Bono and the late country icon.
The announcement: U2 have officially announced Carnaval de Luz, their 16th studio album, due out November 13, The Guardian and NME reported on Thursday, September 24. It is the band’s first album of new songs since Songs of Experience in 2017.
Alongside the news, the band released a new single, “Silencio,” which NME described as playful and energetic and The Guardian called a raucous rock’n’roll song. Its music video was shot in Mexico City, according to NME. An earlier track from the album, “Street of Dreams,” came out in July.
Dolly Parton’s last performance: The 12-track record closes with “Torn,” a duet between Bono and Dolly Parton. Both outlets report it is Parton’s final recorded vocal performance. Parton died on August 25 at age 80, The Guardian noted. Press materials describe the song as “a tender country song detailing broken family ties, that holds wider resonances,” according to The Guardian. Longtime U2 collaborator Daniel Lanois plays pedal steel on the track.
NME reported the friendship between Parton and the band ran for years — Bono sent a bagpiper to play for her 80th birthday.
What the band says: Guitarist the Edge called the album “a messy, provocative, sacred collection of songs,” both outlets reported. Bono framed it as defiant joy in dark times: “if the world is in darkness we better not be,” he said in a statement quoted by The Guardian and NME.
Who made it: NME reported the album was produced by Jacknife Lee. Brian Eno co-writes and plays synths, according to both outlets. EDM star Martin Garrix co-wrote “Glorify,” and pop songwriter-producer Ryan Tedder worked on “Silencio,” The Guardian reported.
A carnival, on purpose: The album title points to Carnival, the festive season before Lent. NME noted the album follows the church calendar, just like the two surprise EPs U2 released earlier this year, Days of Ash and Easter Lily — with the album’s Carnival theme sitting before them in that timeline. When Days of Ash came out in February, Bono said the album would have “a more defiantly joyful feel” than that EP’s political songs, The Guardian reported.
The anniversary: The timing is not accidental. The Guardian noted the announcement falls 50 years, to the week, after a 14-year-old Larry Mullen Jr. posted a note on a Dublin school noticeboard seeking musicians to form a band. Bono, the Edge and bassist Adam Clayton were all there from the very first meeting, The Guardian noted.
Full tracklist (per NME): “Go (Carnaval de Luz),” “La Reina,” “Street of Dreams,” “The Mirror Maker (Rosalía),” “Superficiality,” “If the World Is at War We Better Not Be,” “Silencio,” “The Greatest Show on Earth,” “Glorify,” “Midnight Sunshine,” “Can’t Stop Us Now” and “Torn (feat. Dolly Parton).”
What this means: For U2 fans, it is the band’s biggest release in years, landing on its 50th anniversary. For country fans, “Torn” will be the last new Dolly Parton vocal the public hears — expect it to draw attention well beyond U2’s usual audience when the album arrives November 13.