Easter Lily EP

This EP just makes me really happy. One of the biggest things about U2's appeal is how well they convey interpersonal relationships through their music. Part of this covers their relationships with their loved ones, and the other part with God Himself. I respect the band's faith because I know it's genuine, and they just approach it so beautifully.
Opening with an Edge song is a bold choice! He sounds really good for a ballad like this, and the guitar soundscape he made was a lovely dedication to Hal.
The middle three songs, and I mean this in the best way, all mesh together as a sort of medley. They cover different ideas, melodies, and ways for Bono to express himself as both a vocalist and writer. It's a great look into his headspace as both a famous artist and a regular person, with the songs covering themes about living life to the fullest, practicing self-love, and being confident in one's beliefs. In Resurrection Song when he said: "And if I sound ridiculous, I'm not done yet," I legitimately started cheering out loud. That's been Bono's entire M.O. his whole career.
Also, if you asked me to go into this album completely blind and ask me how old he was, I wouldn't say 65 (going on 66 on Sunday!!). The way he maintains his lower-mid range now and controls his volume and sustained notes in the more emotional moments is UNREAL.
Easter Parade is... amazing. It's EXACTLY what I wanted from modern U2. Catchy, sick bassline, and alternative synth elements we haven't really heard like this since Pop. There's a sort of melancholy element to both the music and lyrics, too. By far my favorite song between the two EPs. Possibly my song of the year so far.
And for the closer, we have Coexist. It's kinda cool, but maybe not something I'd go back to super often. As a song, I respect the lyricism (a given for this band tbh), lower range spoken word parts, and acapella towards the end. It reminded me of Moment of Surrender. It's still a really cool art piece.
I try not to let my personal feelings cloud my practical judgement of albums, but I just feel so strongly about this. I'm very grateful this band is not only still active, but putting in real effort to make something expressive AND enjoyable. I really hope they keep this energy up for their full length album later this year.

Favorite track: Easter Parade