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Waltzing Alone
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Waltzing Alone Guggenheim Grotto
Melodically driven musical gems in exquisite packaging. When songwriter Kevin May was studying religion and music in college he hoped he'd discover the meaning of life. What he discovered, rather, was that for every brilliant idea, there are many more unanswered questions. Thus was the inspiration for 'Philosophia,'? the first track of The Guggenheim Grotto's first full-length album, Waltzing Alone. This Dublin-based trio is separated into a little ventured league of songwriting through the depth of Kevin May's often literature-inspired lyrics. Heavily influenced by the writing of Leonard Cohen, many of the band's tragic love songs reflect concepts of finding joy in the melancholy. Paired with hauntingly beautiful vocal harmonies and a wistful combination of classical and contemporary instruments (viola here, glockenspiel there), The Guggenheim Grotto creates a heady mix of pop, folk and soaring melodies that is both moving and intelligent. Kevin May, Mick Lynch and Shane Power are true multi-instrumentalists, completely at home in charge of a breathtaking array of instruments both onstage and in the studio. These classically trained lads know when and what to add to perfect the mix, ending in an enviable musical maturity that begs for many bands to be sent back to the garage. Together as a duo since 2003, Mick and Kevin cut their teeth playing the same Dublin songwriter circuit that spawned Damien Rice. Having produced and recorded a collection of five songs in the confines of Kevin's tiny flat, in 2004 they approached Shane (a busy musician and studio engineer) to put the finishing touches to what resulted in the self-released A Lifetime In Heat EP. Instantly impressed by what he heard, Shane and the duo kept in touch, exchanging ideas, occasionally gigging together and eventually bringing Shane on as drummer to form the line-up that then set about recording their first album. Waltzing Alone was recorded over a six-month period in Shane's home studio. The album was self-released to immediate critical acclaim in Ireland on September 9, 2005, and its first promotional single 'Told You So' rapidly became a firm favorite on Irish airwaves. Within weeks the song climbed to #12 on the Irish National Airplay Chart (compiled by AC Nielsen). In America, awareness of the band began to rise thanks to the support of DJ's like David Dye at WXPN, Kate Bradley on XM50's 'The Loft' and Nic Harcourt at KCRW. January 2006 saw the band travel to the legendary BBC Maida Vale Studios in London where they recorded a live session for Nic Harcourt's show 'Morning Becomes Eclectic.' As more and more American College Radio and AAA stations picked up on the album, the band was invited to showcase at SXSW where they played a brace of gigs before heading off to the sunnier climes of Los Angeles for a KCRW sponsored show at the Hotel Caf. Airing in early May 2006, an hour-long live session for XM Radio's 'The Loft' was recorded just before the band's departure for the U.S. Most recently, Kevin was the first lyricist to be featured on WNUR's Literary Show. Waltzing Alone is wistful, earnest, heart on your sleeve. It speaks to the collective human soul through themes of love and tragedy to which we can all relate, and treasures the most unassuming moments, painting them as some of the most beautiful in life. At first feeling unoriginal in light of the amount of love songs he turned out for the album, Kevin came to terms with his approach. 'The reason love is the greatest theme is that when you're in a relationship, your senses are so heightened; you're lifted out of the banal; you notice more and you see more details,' he said. "I think that it's within that idea of a relationship that you learn a lot more about yourself because it's far more dramatic (than normal life) - that's why I write love songs." Waltzing Alone features twelve heartfelt tracks, leading with the aforementioned 'Philosophia'? and into the tale of a first night-swim, 'Portmarnock Beach Boy Blue' what it means to be lovers, 'Told You So'?; choosing the path of solitude, 'Wonderful Wizard'?; the chilling yet intimate 'Rosanna'?; whimsical new love, 'I Think I Love You'?; inevitability of death based on a Shelley poem of the same title, 'Ozymandias'?; unfulfilled passion, 'A Lifetime in Heat'?; a tribute to Leonard Cohen, 'Koan'; the Marvin Gaye influenced 'Vertigo'?; leaving love behind, 'Cold Truth'?; and finally a simple and lonely piece about the lover who didn't show up, 'Tromboner.' |
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