U2 have made a surprise return with "Street of Dreams", a soaring new single released without warning on Tuesday 7 July, marking the first taste of their forthcoming studio album — their first full LP since 2017's Songs of Experience. The track and its accompanying video consciously revisit the band's late-1980s and early-1990s peak, signalling a deliberate return to the classic sound that defined records such as The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum.

The video was filmed in Mexico City near the Plaza Santo Domingo while the band were in town in May for the 2026 Street Child World Cup Finals. Directed by the Mexican American duo Cliqua, the shoot drew large crowds and was disrupted by storms, forcing the band to finish filming on a local family's balcony after rain caused a generator to fail. It features drummer Larry Mullen Jr., who returned after neck surgery that kept him out of the band's 2023-2024 Las Vegas Sphere residency. Produced by frequent collaborator Jackknife Lee, the untitled album is due later this year and follows two recent EPs, February's Days of Ash and April's Easter Lily.