{"id":76796,"date":"2026-11-10T13:45:43","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T13:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/10\/u2-explores-rebirth-and-faith-on-carnaval-de-luz-review\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T13:45:43","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T13:45:43","slug":"u2-explores-rebirth-and-faith-on-carnaval-de-luz-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/10\/u2-explores-rebirth-and-faith-on-carnaval-de-luz-review\/","title":{"rendered":"U2 Explores Rebirth and Faith on ‘Carnaval De Luz’: Review"},"content":{"rendered":"


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For\u00a0nearly a decade,\u00a0U2<\/a>\u00a0had combed through their memories and catalog to create a trilogy of records exploring how their past shapes the present.\u00a0<\/em><\/a>Songs of Innocence<\/em><\/a>, released in 2014, and its companion album, 2017’s\u00a0Songs of Experience<\/em><\/a>, took stock of the band’s legacy while adding a few new chapters to their still-developing story.<\/p>\n

With 2023’s\u00a0Songs of Surrender<\/em><\/a>, U2 brought the project to a fitting close by rerecording 40 of their songs \u2014 some classics and some obscurities chosen by the four group members to represent their first four decades, marking the end of a chapter in their career.\u00a0Their 16th LP,\u00a0Carnaval De Luz,<\/em>\u00a0continues the spiritual path of two\u00a0EPs released earlier in 2026 \u2014\u00a0Days of Ash<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Easter Lily<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 and marks the start of a new era.<\/p>\n

Really, though, the dozen new tracks are U2’s least complicated since 2009’s No Line on the Horizon<\/em>, though Big Issues remain. With the two EPs as its springboard,\u00a0Carnaval De Luz\u00a0<\/em>positions world turmoil against themes of religion and rebirth \u2014\u00a0Days of Ash<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Easter Lily<\/em>\u00a0were released on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, respectively \u2014 for an album that renews U2’s musical and sacred commitment that began a half-century ago in Dublin.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0<\/strong>Top 100 Rock Songs of All Time<\/a><\/p>\n

Carnaval De Luz\u00a0<\/em>celebrates life, friendship and the discovery of new sounds in the corners of familiar foundations.\u00a0There are times\u00a0\u2014 “Go (Carnaval De Luz)”‘s synth stutters (courtesy of Brian Eno<\/a>), the stadium funk of “Superficiality,” the riffing “Silencio” and “Midnight Sunshine”‘s\u00a0deceivingly bright pop \u2014 where U2 seem to be having a blast, the\u00a0loosest they’ve\u00a0been on record since 2004’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb<\/em><\/a>. And songs like “Street of Dreams” and “The Greatest Show on Earth”\u00a0nod to their past and include some self-mythologizing that doesn’t detract from the music.<\/p>\n

Watch U2’s ‘Street of Dreams’ Video<\/strong><\/p>\n

Still, the grave seriousness that has shadowed U2 from the start occasionally looms here.\u00a0“Nobody is alone, but nobody knows that \/ Everyone is on their own, everybody knows that<\/em>,” Bono<\/a> sings in “La Reina,” which, musically and lyrically, sounds like the past 20 years of U2 wrapped into four and a half minutes; “If the World Is at War We Better Not Be” is as tangled as its title; and the closing track, the weary “Torn,”\u00a0can’t quite equal its marquee billing featuring\u00a0Dolly Parton<\/a> in her last recorded vocal performance. Overall, though,\u00a0Carnaval De Luz\u00a0<\/em>is a rebound, a celebration of survival for a band once again looking forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Michael Schwartz<\/figcaption>u2 2026<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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From U2 and the Police to R.E.M. and David Bowie: The Top 40 Albums of 1983<\/h2>\n
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Pop, new wave, punk and rock collided in a year that opened possibilities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n