← Previous revisionRevision as of 14:20, 13 November 2026 Line 12: Line 12: | recorded = | recorded = | studio = {{hlist|[[Neptune Studios|Neptune]]|[[Chaplin Studios|Chaplin]]|The Hot Purple Petting Zoo}} | studio = {{hlist|[[Neptune Studios|Neptune]]|[[Chaplin Studios|Chaplin]]|The Hot Purple Petting Zoo}} | genre = *[[Rock music|Rock]]{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/nov/09/u2-carnaval-de-luz-review|title=U2: Carnaval de Luz review – rousing, restorative rock from a band ready to take on the world again|first=Dave|last=Simpson|date=9 November 2026|access-date=14 November 2026|work=[[The Guardian]]}}{{cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/u2-carnaval-de-luz/|title=U2 – Carnaval De Luz|first=Robin|last=Murray|date=13 November 2026|access-date=14 November 2026|work=[[Clash (magazine)|Clash]]|quote=...‘Carnaval De Luz’ finds U2 doing what they do best – making huge, widescreen, panoramic rock songs.}} | genre = *[[Rock music|Rock]]{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/nov/09/u2-carnaval-de-luz-review|title=U2: Carnaval de Luz review – rousing, restorative rock from a band ready to take on the world again|first=Dave|last=Simpson|date=9 November 2026|access-date=14 November 2026|work=[[The Guardian]]}}{{cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/u2-carnaval-de-luz/|title=U2 – Carnaval De Luz|first=Robin|last=Murray|date=13 November 2026|access-date=14 November 2026|work=[[Clash (magazine)|Clash]]|quote=...‘Carnaval De Luz’ finds U2 doing what they do best – making huge, widescreen, panoramic rock songs.}} *[[pop music|pop]]{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/u2-carnaval-de-luz-album-review-1235645569/|title=U2 Sound Revitalized on ‘Carnaval de Luz’|first=Kory|last=Grow|date=8 November 2026|access-date=14 November 2026|work=[[Rolling Stone]]|quote=The music is the opposite of the blues, as well as U2’s legend-making hits; it’s big, bright pop music with more silver linings than clouds and only a few minor keys. }} *[[pop music|pop]]{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/u2-carnaval-de-luz-album-review-1235645569/|title=U2 Sound Revitalized on ‘Carnaval de Luz’|first=Kory|last=Grow|date=8 November 2026|access-date=14 November 2026|work=[[Rolling Stone]]|quote=The music is the opposite of the blues, as well as U2’s legend-making hits; it’s big, bright pop music with more silver linings than clouds and only a few minor keys. }} | length = 47:26 | length = 47:26 Line 52: Line 52: | MC = 76/100 | MC = 76/100 | rev1 = ''[[The Guardian]]'' | rev1 = ''[[The Guardian]]'' | rev1score = {{rating|4|5}} | rev1score = {{rating|4|5}} | rev2 = ''[[The Irish Times]]'' | rev2 = ''[[The Irish Times]]'' | rev2score = {{rating|4|5}} | rev2score = {{rating|4|5}} Line 75: Line 75: ''Carnaval de Luz'' was acclaimed by music critics, earning a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 on review aggregator [[Metacritic]].{{Cite web |title=Carnaval De Luz by U2 Reviews and Tracks - Metacritic |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/carnaval-de-luz/u2/ |access-date=12 November 2026|website=[[Metacritic]]|language=en}} ''Carnaval de Luz'' was acclaimed by music critics, earning a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 on review aggregator [[Metacritic]].{{Cite web |title=Carnaval De Luz by U2 Reviews and Tracks - Metacritic |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/carnaval-de-luz/u2/ |access-date=12 November 2026|website=[[Metacritic]]|language=en}} Dave Simpson of ''[[The Guardian]]'' said that the band "sound rejuvenated" with Mullen back and that although the lyrics had the "usual bagful of trademark earnest Bono-isms", the music was "so epically impassioned and elevating that... it might not change the world, but it can certainly uplift anyone listening to it". Simpson thought that despite some of his favorite songs from the companion EPs not appearing on the album, it was "some of the band's best work in more than 30 years".{{cite news |last=Simpson |first=Dave |title=U2: Carnaval de Luz review – a joyful, muscular return to form |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/nov/09/u2-carnaval-de-luz-review |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=9 November 2026 |access-date=9 November 2026}} Brian Hiatt of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' similarly judged that the band seemed refreshed, saying, "Each song is tight and punchy, memorable and melodic", while praising the simplicity of the production for making the songs feel cohesive. He called the album an "ambitious endeavor" and said that it stood as "an alternative argument to pop-culture doomsaying".{{cite news |last=Hiatt |first=Brian |title=U2 Sound Revitalized on 'Carnaval de Luz' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/u2-carnaval-de-luz-album-review-1235645569/ |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=November 2026 |access-date=9 November 2026}} Neil McCormick of ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'' described the release as "shiny, poppy, artful and heartfelt, full of hope and optimism" with songs that were "full of rhythmic bounce and melodic swagger". He believed that the record had a "lightness of spirit that might be surprising coming from U2".{{cite news |last=McCormick |first=Neil |title=U2's new album is a big, shiny (and slightly odd) piece of pop art |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/u2-carnaval-de-luz-review/ |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=9 November 2026 |access-date=9 November 2026}} Victoria Segal of ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' called the album "a wind-tunnel rush of colour and sound, a concerted attempt to work against the enveloping misery engendered by the current state of the world." Noting "occasional platitudinous lapses", she praised the band's return to "full strength" with Mullen active again, and she concluded "Fifty years since they came together in the schoolyard, U2 still throw one hell of a parade."{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/new-music/u2-carnaval-de-luz-review/|title=Light fandango|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|first=Victoria|last=Segal|date=December 2026|issue=397|page=87}} Writing for ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'', Andrew Mueller said the band were "back in readily recognisable form" and that the album "Lyrically and spiritually... is also recognisable as another chapter in U2's manifesto of dogged optimism". Mueller described "The Greatest Show on Earth" as a "highlight not just of this album, but the entire U2 songbook".{{cite magazine|title=U2: Carnaval de Luz (Island)|magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |date=2026 |first=Andrew |last=Mueller|issue=Review of the Year 2026|pages=22−23}} Dave Simpson of ''[[The Guardian]]'' said that the band "sound rejuvenated" with Mullen back and that although the lyrics had the "usual bagful of trademark earnest Bono-isms", the music was "so epically impassioned and elevating that... it might not change the world, but it can certainly uplift anyone listening to it". Simpson thought that despite some of his favorite songs from the companion EPs not appearing on the album, it was "some of the band's best work in more than 30 years". Brian Hiatt of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' similarly judged that the band seemed refreshed, saying, "Each song is tight and punchy, memorable and melodic", while praising the simplicity of the production for making the songs feel cohesive. He called the album an "ambitious endeavor" and said that it stood as "an alternative argument to pop-culture doomsaying".{{cite news |last=Hiatt |first=Brian |title=U2 Sound Revitalized on 'Carnaval de Luz' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/u2-carnaval-de-luz-album-review-1235645569/ |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=November 2026 |access-date=9 November 2026}} Neil McCormick of ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'' described the release as "shiny, poppy, artful and heartfelt, full of hope and optimism" with songs that were "full of rhythmic bounce and melodic swagger". He believed that the record had a "lightness of spirit that might be surprising coming from U2".{{cite news |last=McCormick |first=Neil |title=U2's new album is a big, shiny (and slightly odd) piece of pop art |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/u2-carnaval-de-luz-review/ |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=9 November 2026 |access-date=9 November 2026}} Victoria Segal of ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' called the album "a wind-tunnel rush of colour and sound, a concerted attempt to work against the enveloping misery engendered by the current state of the world." Noting "occasional platitudinous lapses", she praised the band's return to "full strength" with Mullen active again, and she concluded "Fifty years since they came together in the schoolyard, U2 still throw one hell of a parade."{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/new-music/u2-carnaval-de-luz-review/|title=Light fandango|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|first=Victoria|last=Segal|date=December 2026|issue=397|page=87}} Writing for ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'', Andrew Mueller said the band were "back in readily recognisable form" and that the album "Lyrically and spiritually... is also recognisable as another chapter in U2's manifesto of dogged optimism". Mueller described "The Greatest Show on Earth" as a "highlight not just of this album, but the entire U2 songbook".{{cite magazine|title=U2: Carnaval de Luz (Island)|magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |date=2026 |first=Andrew |last=Mueller|issue=Review of the Year 2026|pages=22−23}} Kevin Harley of ''[[Record Collector]]'' stated that if the album "can seem characteristically guilty of trying too hard to be all things to all modern U2 fans, not least with its phalanx of collaborators... it also serves a flawed but fervent and full-bodied contrasting partner-piece to its sibling EPs." Harley concluded that the band "sound ambitious and engaged in their 50th year, swinging for the fences and hitting more targets than not."{{cite web |url=https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/u2-carnaval-de-luz-review |title=U2 {{!}} Carnaval De Luz {{!}} Album Review |website=[[Record Collector]] |first=Kevin |last=Harley |date=28 October 2026 |access-date=29 October 2026}} Will Hodgkinson of ''[[The Times]]'' gave the album three out of five stars, writing that while it occasionally descends into "Coldplay-like levels of Panglossian positivity", its central message—that "happiness is an act of resistance"—is welcome. He highlighted 'The Greatest Show on Earth' and the duet 'Torn' with Dolly Parton as standouts, while criticizing tracks such as 'Street of Dreams' and 'The Mirror Maker (Rosalía)'.{{cite news |last=Hodgkinson |first=Will |title=U2, Carnaval de Luz review — brave, epic and occasionally bad taste rock |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/music/article/u2-carnaval-de-luz-review-music-bono-3qbznj982 |work=[[The Times]] |date=8 November 2026 |access-date=9 November 2026}} Ed Power of ''[[The Irish Times]]'' said, "It's hard to recall a moment since the turn of the century when U2 have sounded so invigorated, so unburdened and so over themselves." He called ''Carnaval de Luz'' "easily their best" album since ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'' (2004) and highlighted 'The Greatest Show on Earth' as the album's bittersweet "centrepiece". Kevin Harley of ''[[Record Collector]]'' stated that if the album "can seem characteristically guilty of trying too hard to be all things to all modern U2 fans, not least with its phalanx of collaborators... it also serves a flawed but fervent and full-bodied contrasting partner-piece to its sibling EPs." Harley concluded that the band "sound ambitious and engaged in their 50th year, swinging for the fences and hitting more targets than not."{{cite web |url=https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/u2-carnaval-de-luz-review |title=U2 {{!}} Carnaval De Luz {{!}} Album Review |website=[[Record Collector]] |first=Kevin |last=Harley |date=28 October 2026 |access-date=29 October 2026}} Will Hodgkinson of ''[[The Times]]'' gave the album three out of five stars, writing that while it occasionally descends into "Coldplay-like levels of Panglossian positivity", its central message—that "happiness is an act of resistance"—is welcome. He highlighted 'The Greatest Show on Earth' and the duet 'Torn' with Dolly Parton as standouts, while criticizing tracks such as 'Street of Dreams' and 'The Mirror Maker (Rosalía)'.{{cite news |last=Hodgkinson |first=Will |title=U2, Carnaval de Luz review — brave, epic and occasionally bad taste rock |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/music/article/u2-carnaval-de-luz-review-music-bono-3qbznj982 |work=[[The Times]] |date=8 November 2026 |access-date=9 November 2026}} Ed Power of ''[[The Irish Times]]'' said, "It's hard to recall a moment since the turn of the century when U2 have sounded so invigorated, so unburdened and so over themselves." He called ''Carnaval de Luz'' "easily their best" album since ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'' (2004) and highlighted 'The Greatest Show on Earth' as the album's bittersweet "centrepiece".