On the Record

Jim Carroll on music

Is the U2 frontman deaf to the suffering of his people?

It has come to On The Record's attention that one of the country's most high-profile rock stars is missing in action. At a time of great national crisis, we have heard from Westlife and Jim Corr about the troubles which now face us. Yes, we've chuckled loudly at what they've had to say, but they have nonetheless been with us in our hour of need.

One man, though, remains missing. Cometh the hour and cometh the crisis, there’s no sign of Bono.

Of course, he hasn't gone too far. This was the week when he and The Edge were caught up in the furore over the Broadway production Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, with advance previews slating the $65 million show's "baffling script" and "dull score" (the latter composed by the U2 duo).

There was also an incident in New Zealand where Bono dedicated a song to the 29 miners who died in an explosion at the country's River Pike mine. Some fans at the Auckland show thought the choice of I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking Forwas "insensitive".

However, the U2 frontman’s silence on Ireland’s economic woes is baffling. It’s remarkable that there’s been nothing from him, especially given Bono’s propensity to comment on national and international events. All we can find is an aside at an Athens concert in September comparing the Greeks to the Irish (“not only are we broke, but our lands are capable of god-like genius”).

Perhaps part of his reticence to comment is down to the band’s 2006 decision to move part of their business to The Netherlands to avail of their lower tax rate.

Still, it would be nice to hear from him.

MILAN JAY

John G Millane's one-man band from Ballinasloe, Milan Jay is about feel-good, whip-smart funky indielectronica with an array of monster melodic hooks keeping it all in check. Go to his Bandcamp page now to download a slew of tunes for free. First live show was last week and there are more to come in 2011. Milanjay.bandcamp.com

OH LAND

All it took was one song ( Sun Of A Gun) for us to fall under Oh Land's spell. A former ballerina, Danish native Nanna Fabricus has already attracted heavyweight attention (she's about to work with Pharrell "Neptunes" Williams) on the back of her widescreen electropop and crunchy rhythms. Myspace.com/ohlandmusic

BRAIDS

Space-age trippy sounds from the Calgary youths now living in Montreal who made a big splash at the recent CMJ fest in New York and whose Native Speaker album is released on Kanine in January. Hypnotic dream-pop odyssey Lemonade suggests something quite noteworthy in the works. Myspace.com/braidsmusic

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