It’s hard to pin The Guggenheim Grotto down. The second album from the multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist Dublin trio, comprised of Kevin May, Mick Lynch and Shane Power, opens with a New Age-style intro reminding listeners that we’re all made of atoms created by exploding stars: “When you realise how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.”
Thankfully, TGG don’t overdose on spiritualism, mysticism or any other hippy-dippiness. Although their songs are littered with references to both the universe and the universal, what follows is a little more down to earth. Combining pop, folk, soaring melodies, haunting harmonies and emotionally intelligent lyrics, their lovingly crafted sound is both completely contemporary and yet somehow timeless.
The intro segues neatly into the upbeat ‘Fee Da Da Dee’: “Imi, Imi, I think I’m getting it/ Our heads are a haunt for the ghosts of alphabets/ Our hearts are tigers chasing tigerness.” ‘Tigerness’? It’s forgivable only because it’s a great song.
Indeed, there’s not really a dud track here. Songs that should be sickeningly saccharine sweet somehow aren’t. Even when they occasionally stray too close to the middle of the road, it turns out that the road in question is winding somewhere interesting.
The Guggenheim Grotto won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, but fans of the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Paul Simon and even The Beautiful South will probably cherish this album. They’re already reasonably popular in the US. It genuinely wouldn’t surprise me if Happy The Man went viral over there.
Key Track: ‘Oh Nikita’