{"id":26078,"date":"2026-09-27T19:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T17:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.loffmusic.com\/u2-breaks-a-nine-year-hiatus-and-their-new-album-features-dolly-partons-final-recording\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T19:30:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T17:30:47","slug":"u2-breaks-a-nine-year-hiatus-and-their-new-album-features-dolly-partons-final-recording","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.loffmusic.com\/en\/u2-breaks-a-nine-year-hiatus-and-their-new-album-features-dolly-partons-final-recording\/","title":{"rendered":"U2 breaks a nine-year hiatus, and their new album features Dolly Parton’s final recording"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/h1>\n\n

*Carnaval De Luz*<\/em> will be released on November 13, coinciding with U2\u2019s 50th anniversary. Twelve songs, Brian Eno, Jacknife Lee, Daniel Lanois, Martin Garrix, a mysterious reference to Rosal\u00eda, and a particularly emotional finale: \u201cTorn,\u201d Dolly Parton\u2019s final vocal recording before her death. <\/h3>\n\n

Nine years.<\/p>\n\n

For almost any band, that would feel like an eternity.<\/p>\n\n

For U2<\/strong>, this might be exactly the time they need to have something to prove again.<\/p>\n\n

Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. have just announced Carnaval De Luz<\/strong><\/em>, their first album of all-new material since *Songs of Experience*<\/em>, released in 2017<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

It will be U2’s sixteenth studio album.<\/p>\n\n

It will be released on November 13, 2026, via Island Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

And it features a song that will inevitably make the album more than just the comeback of one of the greatest rock bands on the planet.<\/p>\n\n

Because the last song on *Carnaval De Luz*<\/em> also features the last vocal performance Dolly Parton recorded before her death<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

It’s called:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cTorn.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

And learning the story of how he ended up with U2 makes it even more exciting.<\/p>\n\n

Dolly Parton got out of bed to record it<\/h2>\n\n

Bono wanted to work with Dolly Parton.<\/p>\n\n

But the story didn’t begin with Carnaval De Luz<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

The singer had contacted her about a side project related to Irish folk music. Dolly turned down that proposal. <\/p>\n\n

Instead, he taught her a song he was working on.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cTorn.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Bono resumed writing songs with Johnny McDaid<\/strong>, while Daniel Lanois<\/strong>, a key figure in U2’s history, ended up contributing pedal steel guitar<\/em> to the recording.<\/p>\n\n

But then Dolly Parton’s health took a turn for the worse.<\/p>\n\n

And something happened that Bono still has a hard time hearing about.<\/p>\n\n

The singer got out of bed to record her part.<\/p>\n\n

\n

\u201cAnd you can hear that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

That’s how Bono explained it to Rolling Stone<\/em>. Producer Jacknife Lee also noted that Parton listened to and approved the finished mix and was proud of her performance. <\/p>\n\n

Then he died.<\/p>\n\n

He was 80 years old.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cTorn\u201d ended up being his last recorded vocal performance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

And U2 decided to close the album with that song.<\/p>\n\n

But *Carnaval De Luz*<\/em> doesn’t seem like an album built around nostalgia<\/h2>\n\n

That’s important.<\/p>\n\n

Because it would be incredibly easy to market U2’s comeback based solely on their history.<\/p>\n\n

50 years.<\/p>\n\n

Dublin.<\/p>\n\n

The Joshua Tree<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

Achtung Baby<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

All That You Can’t Leave Behind<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

Stadiums.<\/p>\n\n

Decades of songs.<\/p>\n\n

But the ” Carnaval De Luz<\/em> ” performance points in exactly the opposite direction.<\/p>\n\n

The Edge has described it as:<\/p>\n\n

\n

\u201cA messy, provocative, sacred collection of songs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

A chaotic, provocative, and sacred<\/strong> collection of songs. <\/p>\n\n

And Bono doesn’t seem particularly interested in discretion either.<\/p>\n\n

He talks about powerful guitars.<\/p>\n\n

Deep bass.<\/p>\n\n

Ecstatic rhythms.<\/p>\n\n

Silver Tears.<\/p>\n\n

Monsters.<\/p>\n\n

Fire.<\/p>\n\n

Darkness.<\/p>\n\n

And songs that need to shine precisely because, outside of that \u201ccarnival of light,\u201d the world can seem quite dark.<\/p>\n\n

Pure Bonus.<\/p>\n\n

But there’s something even more interesting beneath all that rhetoric.<\/p>\n\n

U2 wants to sound dangerous again<\/h2>\n\n

Over the past few years, Bono has repeatedly expressed this idea.<\/p>\n\n

The world doesn’t just need another U2 album<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

He needs one that justifies his existence.<\/p>\n\n

In previous conversations about the project, he went so far as to say that no one needed a new album from the band unless it was extraordinary, while The Edge hinted that what they were working on wouldn’t be just \u201ca rock album.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

Now we can begin to understand what they meant.<\/p>\n\n

The album was produced by Jacknife Lee<\/strong> and recorded in various locations during a creative process that also resulted in the EPs Days of Ash<\/strong><\/em> and Easter Lily<\/strong><\/em> , which were released as a surprise in early 2026. <\/p>\n\n

Twelve songs.<\/p>\n\n

Spirituality.<\/p>\n\n

Friendship.<\/p>\n\n

Freedom.<\/p>\n\n

Resistance.<\/p>\n\n

And a band trying to figure out what it means to still be U2 half a century after they started.<\/p>\n\n

Exactly half a century<\/h2>\n\n

The timing of the announcement is no coincidence.<\/p>\n\n

In September 1976<\/strong>, a teenager named Larry Mullen Jr.<\/strong> posted a handwritten notice on the bulletin board at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in north Dublin.<\/p>\n\n

I was looking for musicians to start a band.<\/p>\n\n

Several kids answered.<\/p>\n\n

Among them:<\/p>\n\n

Paul Hewson.<\/p>\n\n

David Evans.<\/p>\n\n

Adam Clayton.<\/p>\n\n

Over time, the world would come to know them as:<\/p>\n\n

Bono.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The Edge.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Adam Clayton.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Larry Mullen Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Fifty years later, all four are still with U2.<\/p>\n\n

And right during the week of their 50th anniversary, they announced the 16th album of their career. <\/p>\n\n

It’s not a bad way to celebrate a golden wedding anniversary.<\/p>\n\n

24 new songs in a single year<\/h2>\n\n

Here’s another fact that I think is amazing and that almost got lost amid all the headlines.<\/p>\n\n

By the end of 2026, U2 will have released 24 new songs during their 50th anniversary<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

That includes the previously released EPs and the twelve songs from *Carnaval De Luz<\/em>*.<\/p>\n\n

For a band whose last conventional collection of all-new material dates back to 2017, the contrast is striking.<\/p>\n\n

After nine years of waiting for an album…<\/p>\n\n

U2 has decided to release nearly two albums’ worth of songs in twelve months.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Why is it called ” Carnival of Light<\/em>“?<\/h2>\n\n

Here’s a pretty nice idea.<\/p>\n\n

The album is not conceptually separate from the two previous EPs.<\/p>\n\n

Everything follows a sort of liturgical calendar.<\/p>\n\n

Carnival is a celebration of the flesh\u2014the flesh\u2014<\/em>before Lent.<\/p>\n\n

Then comes the resignation.<\/p>\n\n

Reflection.<\/p>\n\n

And finally, the Easter resurrection.<\/p>\n\n

Thus, *Carnaval De Luz<\/em> * takes place conceptually before *Days of Ash<\/em> * and *Easter Lily<\/em><\/strong>*. <\/p>\n\n

Celebration.<\/p>\n\n

Darkness.<\/p>\n\n

Reflection.<\/p>\n\n

Renaissance.<\/p>\n\n

It’s not hard to find themes there that U2 has been exploring for decades.<\/p>\n\n

It will be interesting to see if they’ve found a new way to count them this time.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cSilence\u201d is 2 minutes and 35 seconds long<\/h2>\n\n

The first important sign is strange.<\/p>\n\n

And pretty funny.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cSilencio\u201d isn\u2019t one of those monumental five-minute songs we automatically associate with U2.<\/p>\n\n

Duration:<\/p>\n\n

2:35.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The band itself describes it as a tribute to the defiance of early surf-punk<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

Bono even dabbles briefly in Spanglish<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

And the music video, directed by the Mexican-American duo Cliqua\u2014Pasqual Guti\u00e9rrez and Ra\u00fal \u201cRJ\u201d Sanchez\u2014<\/strong>was filmed in Mexico City<\/strong> and features U2 performing in a nearly empty ballroom. <\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

But there is one important clarification.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cSilencio\u201d isn’t actually the first song on the album that we hear<\/h2>\n\n

Although some international media reports have described it as the lead single<\/em>, U2’s official website clarifies the chronology:<\/p>\n\n

“Street of Dreams” was released in July.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cSilencio\u201d is the second single from *Carnaval De Luz<\/em><\/strong>*. <\/p>\n\n

It’s a small detail.<\/p>\n\n

But if we want LoffMusic to become a reliable source, it’s worth telling the story correctly.<\/p>\n\n

And that’s not the only piece of misinformation going around.<\/p>\n\n

NO, Rosal\u00eda has not been confirmed as a guest artist<\/h2>\n\n

This is probably the item that generates the most searches in Spain.<\/p>\n\n

The fourth track on the album is called:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe Mirror Maker (Rosal\u00eda).\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

At first glance, it seems obvious.<\/p>\n\n

U2 featuring Rosal\u00eda. <\/p>\n\n

And some media outlets interpreted it exactly that way.<\/p>\n\n

But be careful.<\/p>\n\n

The official list itself states:<\/p>\n\n

The Mirror Maker (Rosal\u00eda)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

whereas when Dolly Parton appears, she really makes an appearance:<\/p>\n\n

“Torn” (feat. Dolly Parton)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

The difference is significant.<\/p>\n\n

In fact, Billboard<\/em> initially reported that Rosal\u00eda appeared on the song and later corrected the information after a U2 spokesperson clarified the matter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

Therefore, as of now, the accurate information is:<\/p>\n\n

There’s a U2 song called “The Mirror Maker (Rosal\u00eda),” but it hasn’t been confirmed whether Rosal\u00eda sings on it or appears in it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

And until U2 explains the meaning of the parentheses, I wouldn’t go any further.<\/p>\n\n

That said:<\/p>\n\n

We want to know why her name is Rosal\u00eda.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Brian Eno is also returning<\/h2>\n\n

There is another very important name.<\/p>\n\n

Brian Eno.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

One of the architects behind U2’s signature sound makes a comeback on *Carnaval De Luz<\/em>*.<\/p>\n\n

Eno is a co-writer and synthesizer<\/strong> player on:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cGo (Carnival of Light).\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe Greatest Show on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cCan’t Stop Us Now.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

And he’s not alone.<\/p>\n\n

Martin Garrix<\/strong> co-wrote \u201cGlorify.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Ryan Tedder<\/strong> provides additional production on \u201cSilencio.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

And Daniel Lanois<\/strong> plays pedal steel guitar<\/em> on \u201cTorn.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

In other words, U2 has brought together longtime collaborators with producers from later generations.<\/p>\n\n

Another clue about the kind of album we can expect.<\/p>\n\n

The 12 Songs of *Carnaval De Luz*<\/em><\/h2>\n\n

The official track list is as follows: <\/p>\n\n

    \n
  1. Go (Carnival of Light)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The Queen<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Street of Dreams<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. The Mirror Maker (Rosal\u00eda)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Superficiality<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. If the World Is at War, We’d Better Not Be<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Silence<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. The Greatest Show on Earth<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Glorify<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Midnight Sunshine<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Can’t Stop Us Now<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  12. Torn (feat. Dolly Parton)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

    The titles alone contain enough clues.<\/p>\n\n

    Spanish.<\/p>\n\n

    War.<\/p>\n\n

    Mirrors.<\/p>\n\n

    Gloria.<\/p>\n\n

    Midnight Sun.<\/p>\n\n

    Rosal\u00eda.<\/p>\n\n

    And finally, Dolly Parton.<\/p>\n\n

    But there is one song that will inevitably stand out from all the others.<\/p>\n\n

    The final track on the album will also be Dolly Parton’s final track<\/h2>\n\n

    After 11 songs, *Carnaval De Luz*<\/em> will close with \u201cTorn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

    A country song about broken family ties<\/strong>, written by U2, Dolly Parton, and Johnny McDaid. <\/p>\n\n

    And Dolly will be there.<\/p>\n\n

    Not like a voice retrieved from an archive.<\/p>\n\n

    Not like an old recording that’s been reused.<\/p>\n\n

    Not as a recreation using artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n

    As a performance he recorded for that song.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

    Her last one.<\/p>\n\n

    Bono admits that he can barely hear her now. <\/p>\n\n

    Millions of people will probably understand why when November 13 rolls around.<\/p>\n\n

    U2 is back after nine years\u2014but also after fifty<\/h2>\n\n

    It is difficult to distinguish between the two figures.<\/p>\n\n

    9.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

    The number of years since the last conventional album of new songs.<\/p>\n\n

    50.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

    The years since four teenagers started playing music together in Dublin.<\/p>\n\n

    In the middle:<\/p>\n\n

    More than 170 million albums sold, stadium tours, reinventions, excesses, activism, monumental albums, controversial albums, and some songs that have become part of the universal language of rock.<\/p>\n\n

    But Carnaval De Luz<\/em> cannot survive on that story alone.<\/p>\n\n

    And U2 probably knows this better than anyone.<\/p>\n\n

    That’s why perhaps the truly important line Bono says in the entire commercial isn’t the one about the monsters.<\/p>\n\n

    Not even the one about fire.<\/p>\n\n

    Not even the one with the guitars.<\/p>\n\n

    It’s this idea:<\/p>\n\n

    If the world is in darkness, we shouldn’t be.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

    U2 has been trying for fifty years to turn thoughts like these into epic songs.<\/p>\n\n

    On November 13,<\/strong> we’ll find out if he still knows how to do it.<\/p>\n\n

    But when the album’s final song comes around, the story will inevitably shift to a new protagonist.<\/p>\n\n

    A guitar will play.<\/p>\n\n

    Bono will appear.<\/p>\n\n

    And then we’ll hear a voice that the world will never hear again as we record a new song.<\/p>\n\n

    Dolly Parton.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

    One last time.<\/p>\n\n

    \n\n

    <\/h1>\n\n
    \n