U2 will celebrate their 50th year as a band later this year with their 16th studio album, Carnaval De Luz. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legends announced details about their first full album of new material in nine years on Thursday (Sept. 24), and dropped the chaotic dancehall video for the LP’s frenetic, urgent second single, “Silencio.”
On the thrumming, classic era-sounding “Silencio,” Bono sings, “There’s a quiet where a baby doesn’t cry/ There’s a hush where a mother might sigh/ Oh Mary mama angel offer her a choice,” over rattling drums and a throbbing bass line. The high-energy video — which features the band performing in a Mexican dance hall with the lyrics splashed on the screen in black and red ooze — was shot in Mexico City earlier this year and directed by Mexican American duo Cliqua. The pair were also behind the celebratory video for the LP’s first single, “Street of Dreams,” which was released in July.
A press release noted that the album was recorded “all over the place” and produced by frequent collaborator Jacknife Lee, describing it as a collection of songs “exploring themes of spirituality, friendship, freedom and endurance in the face of dark, encroaching forces.” It features co-writing and synth playing from another frequent collaborator, producer Brian Eno (“Go (Carnaval De Luz),” “The Greatest Show on Earth”), as well as a co-write with Martin Garrix (“Glorify”), pedal steel from for yet another longtime associate, Daniel Lanois (“Torn”) and additional production from Ryan Tedder (“Silencio”).
The album’s last track features the final vocal performance from late country icon Dolly Parton on “Torn,” co-written by the band, Parton and Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid. It is described as “a tender country song detailing broken family ties that holds wider resonances.” The collection also features a collab with Rosalía on “The Mirror Maker.” The band’s 16th studio album is the follow-up to 2017’s Songs of Experience; earlier this year, U2 released a pair of EPs, Days of Ash and Easter Lily.
“Roll up, roll up, roll up! Bring your purple socks, your broken hearts, your rose-tinted naivety … oh be amazed in the hall of mirrors. There will be loud guitars, deep bass, some ecstatic rhythms and, yes, some silver tears will make an appearance!,” said singer Bono in a statement.
“‘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,” he continued. “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.”
Guitarist The Edge added, “It’s a messy, provocative, sacred collection of songs — and features the first-ever use of flat-wound strings on a U2 recording. Just saying.”
The track listing for Carnaval De Luz is: “Go (Carnaval De Luz),” “La Reina,” “Street of Dreams,” “The Mirror Maker” (feat. 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).
Watch the “Silencio” video below.