Fri. March 26 

Guggenheim Grotto - a duo from Ireland, Kevin May and Mike Lynch - hit the states last January '09 and they're back again in our parts tonight at the Real Room in Burlington Friday March 26, They began as what you might call a folk-pop duo. That's still at the core of what they do, but on their second disc, "Happy the Man" they explore suble electronic and sampling techniques as well. They're not Daft Punk or KMFDM, by any means. But if their debut, "... Waltzing Alone," was noted for its mellowness, this one will be noted for is upbeat sound and feel. This despite, well, you know, the sadness all around us. "There's a lyrical threat throughout the album," says primary songwriter May, "in that many of the songs explore our habit of holding onto things - lovers, a place in time, resisting change - and the sadness that brings us." That hit us is the the gut and in the head - 2008 was certainly the kind of year where more than a few of us wanted to hold onto things that were slipping away. But Guggenheim Grotto doesn't wallow in the sadness. They start the disc with a quote from Buddha on perfection, and then move on to detail what isn't. Like dreams dashed. But the music is softish; it often has the breeziness of a '60s Beach Boys tune, an gentle uplift that works an effective contrast. ""We wanted to sing joyfully about sadness in the world," is the way May puts it. "With this album, I made a conscious effort of working in ideas, thoughts and musings on self-awareness and enlightenment into the songs."  Reference points: Damien Rice and (from "Once") Glen Hansard. They're currently finishing up a new disc, "The Universe is Laughing." Expect to hear new songs at the Real Room.
     Here's a bit from the review I did for the Boston Herald last year when they played the Lizard Lounge ....
   When is music down, but not all the way down?
   When it’s created and played by Kevin May and Mick Lynch, the Guggenheim Grotto. They’re an acoustic guitar-and-keyboards duo from Dublin on their fourth US tour in three years (but their first without adjunct drummer/sampler Shane Power). They thrive in a zone where melodicism and melancholia square off, do a little dance and shake hands. They live in the land of happy/sad.
    They began Thursday’s hour-long set at the Lizard Lounge with “Lost Forever And” – “What does love have in store for me? … I’m not sure I want to see” – and closed it with “Her Beautiful Ideas,” a key track from their upcoming second CD “Happy the Man." In this song, which recalls Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill,” May reflects on loss: “She used to say ‘Let’s get naked and under the sheets’/And now I just can’t seem to get out of bed anymore.”
    The Grotto use spare instrumentation – only one guitar at a time, sometimes harmony vocals, sometimes not – but have a richness in depth and tone. The world they conjure is one where reality may bite, but reality is your only choice. “Just Not Just” makes that clear in the title, and in “Heaven Has a Heart,” the heart they sing of is made of stone. Does that stone drag them down? No. They advise living life with “compassion and humility” and rejecting defeatism – while acknowledging the likelihood of failure.
    It’s no small trick to maintain this balancing act and the Guggenheim Grotto does so neatly. They incorporated a short Leonard Cohen poem about love, aging and desperation in “Oh Nikita.” “Philosophia” was dead serious and somber – “But in time a thought comes tugging on the sleeve edge of our minds/Perhaps no perfect way exists at all, just many different kinds” - but closed with the Beatles’ shoot-‘em-up country romp “Rocky Raccoon.” There was a bounce in their step, a breeze in their melodies, and a hard-bitten look at life in their lyrics. Cynicism hovered, but was transcended.

I've been to the Real Room to see Greg Hawkes play. It's a wonderful, warm, intimate spot, perfect for GG. Tix: $15.
 

56 Middlesex Turnpike, 781-328-0560 www.therealschoolofmusic.com