Silencio arrives tomorrow as the second single, with the full record due mid-November.
U2 have given their next studio album a title. On 23 September, during a podcast interview marking the band's 50th anniversary, Bono named the forthcoming record Carnaval de Luz. It will be the group's first full album of original material since Songs of Experience in 2017.
Silencio has been confirmed as the second single, due on 24 September. The opening single, Street of Dreams, was released in July. The album is expected in mid-November.
The revelation came as the band discussed their origin story. Celebrations around the 50th anniversary have continued through the year, and the new title now sits at the centre of those celebrations.
From Boy to Carnaval de Luz
U2 formed in Dublin in 1976. The line-up has remained constant: Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. Rooted at first in post-punk, their musical style has evolved across five decades while keeping an anthemic quality built on Bono's expressive vocals and the Edge's chiming, effects-based guitar. Bono's lyrics, often carrying spiritual imagery, have moved between personal and sociopolitical ground. The group have long been popular for their live performances and have staged several elaborate tours.
The early studio run still anchors the catalogue for many listeners: Boy in 1980, October in 1981, War in 1983 and The Unforgettable Fire in 1984, with the live set Under a Blood Red Sky capturing the band in that first surge. Decades of studio albums, EPs and tour recordings have followed.
Songs of Experience, released in 2017, was the last full set of new original songs. What came after took another route. Songs of Surrender arrived in 2023 as a reworking of earlier material. The same year brought the single Atomic City. In 2025 the Stories Of Surrender EP, featuring the Jacknife Lee Ensemble, appeared, and 2026 has brought the Days Of Ash EP. Set against that sequence, Carnaval de Luz stands as a return to a complete album of new writing, rather than another look back over the catalogue.
What comes next
With Silencio due on 24 September and the album expected in mid-November, the outline of the release schedule is now clear even if a full track list and a precise release date have not yet been published.
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