Over the past four years, however, the duo has transcended the comparison – creating rich, multi-instrumental soundscapes. They dabble in synths and effects and radiate melancholic beauty. And sometimes they silence a room by simply harmonizing over a lone ukulele. Always though, their songwriting is marked with a belief in the promises of the universe, a curiosity about humanity and a hopeless romanticism embodied by only the most passionate of artists and dreamers.
This romanticism shines on the band’s new album, The Universe Is Laughing. A lyrical journey through life’s beautiful mysteries, the record sees Kevin and Mick further develop themes of self-discovery and enlightenment they first visited on 2009’s Happy The Man.
The Guggenheim Grotto emerged in 2005 to critical acclaim in Ireland with its debut album …Waltzing Alone when the first single “Told You So” reached No. 12 on the Irish National Airplay Charts. Later the band found success abroad much in part to early champions like David Dye at WXPN in Philadelphia, XM Radio’s “The Loft” and Nic Harcourt at KCRW in Los Angeles. …Waltzing Alone eventually spent weeks at the No. 1 spot on the iTunes Folk Chart in April 2007 after the opening track “Philosophia” was chosen as iTunes Free Single of the Week. The song was also featured on the first generation iPhone as a sample song on test models in stores and “Told You So” made it onto a Starbucks Hear Music sampler alongside Damien Rice, James Blunt and Amy Winehouse
Two years later The Guggenheim Grotto released Happy The Man as an iTunes exclusive in October 2008, and the album quickly rose again to No. 1 on the iTunes Folk Chart. January 2009 saw the physical release, and the band spent much of the year traversing these United States to promote it – from playing listening rooms across the country to large festivals, performing on nationally syndicated programs like E-Town in Boulder, CO and Charleston, WV’s Mountain Stage and opening dates with Ani DiFranco and They Might Be Giants. The album received tremendous support from Triple A radio, several songs made their way into major network primetime TV shows like One Tree Hill and Brothers And Sisters, and a YouTube featured video for the first single, “Her Beautiful Ideas,” garnered over 160,000 views in just a few days.
In June 2010 The Guggenheim Grotto released its third album, The Universe Is Laughing, on United For Opportunity. The band moved to the U.S. and began a series of weekly residencies in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Ventura and San Diego that grew wildly, ending in some truly special nights with rooms packed of newly charmed fans. In Los Angeles, the story came full circle during the band’s last night at The Hotel Café when Nic Harcourt, one of its earliest champions, filmed the performance for his new cable TV show Live Buzz. The band continues to tour from its Los Angeles base, bringing the new album to an ever –expanding audience.
A record largely written and recorded in hotels and living rooms while crossing this wide country on tour, The Universe Is Laughing is an ode to lovers and madmen as much as a shout out to carnival hucksters and easy mystics. It celebrates the joy of falling in love and then forgetting what all the fuss was about. It preaches sticking to your guns, fighting the good fight and standing with your hands hung loosely by your side. It’s about marching, chopping wood, highways, girls wearing pretty dresses, sinking churches, ghost towns, chasing answers, getting drunk, rabbits and weasels, tiny white lies, the sun, the moon and the whole damn universe. It’s about dancing in the grey.
Standout tracks like the album’s upbeat first single “Wisdom” or the title track and ukulele tune “The Universe Is Laughing” juxtapose heady concepts, compelling melodies and accessible lyrics. The former challenges a list of guidelines society gives us to find happiness and righteousness with the chorus “I listen and I hear what’s said/ I follow it from A to zed/ But wisdom hasn’t found me yet,” complete with ironically sunshine-y la-la-la-la-las.
In “Ruby Heart,” excitable new love gives way to its senses and learns patience, while “Trust Me I’m A Thief,” cautions on the sometimes brutal honesty of our true nature. The Bowie-esque “Wings And Feathers” pays tribute to Jack Kerouac-inspired mad indulgences with lyrics drunk on love and life. “Tonight we take this city/ The marrow and the fringes/ We’ll set our dogs on beauty/ We’re growing wings and feathers,” May croons in the chorus over a bed of blissful and popping synths.
With equal amounts melancholy and jubilance, The Universe Is Laughing is a celebration of universal truths and the mysteries of humanity. The duo’s signature mix of timeless folk, soaring melodies and emotionally intelligent lyrics remains intact while Kevin and Mick delve deeper to search for meaning within themselves.
For more information please visit www.guggenheimgrotto.com or contact Kellyn Slone at 646-943-3669 or kellyns@ufomusic.net.
Concentrate
The Guggenheim Grotto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The length of you in silhouette
And if I concentrate I can hear your voice
I will tremble those when you get upset
If I really try, the moon appears
It's come a very long way
To play with your head
And the soles of your feet
Are pressed against my skin
But that's where it fades
Yeah, that's how it ends
Though I concentrate
Yes, I concentrate
Oh
If I concentrate, if I give my all
The fog of thoughts evaporate
If I concentrate, I can disappear
Like a ringing church 'neath the perfect lane
And if I lose myself the world appears
Shaking the gold of the sun from her hair
And the soul of the sea is pressed against my mind
Joy in the air, arms open wide
And I concentrate
Yes, I concentrate
Yes, I concentrate
Yes, I concentrate
Oh
The Guggenheim Grotto's song Concentrate is a beautiful and poetic reflection on the power of concentration and the way it can transport us to another place. The lyrics speak of the singer's ability to see and hear their love interest, even when they're not physically present, by concentrating on them with all their might. The idea of the moon appearing and playing with the head is a metaphor for the power of imagination and the way it can bring things to life. Similarly, the image of the soles of the love interest's feet pressed against the singer's skin is a sensual and intimate one, but it's also fleeting, fading away as quickly as it appeared.
As the song progresses, the singer takes things even further, describing how they can disappear entirely when they concentrate hard enough. This line is particularly poignant, as it speaks to the idea of losing oneself in a loved one, of becoming so consumed by them that nothing else exists. The reference to the "ringing church 'neath the perfect lane" is a deeply spiritual one, suggesting that this state of being is almost like a religious experience.
Overall, Concentrate is a stunning piece of music that speaks to the power of human connection and the way it can transport us to other worlds. The lyrics are full of sensory imagery and vivid metaphors, painting a picture of a love that consumes and transforms everything around it.
Line by Line Meaning
If I concentrate I can see your curve
If I focus all of my attention, I can envision your silhouette and curves.
The length of you in silhouette
I am able to imagine the shape and contours of your body outline in my mind's eye when I focus on it.
And if I concentrate I can hear your voice
When I fully concentrate, I am able to recall the sound and tone of your voice in my memory.
I will tremble those when you get upset
You have power over my emotions, as even the thought of you being upset makes me shake with fear.
If I really try, the moon appears
If I put in enough effort, I may be able to conjure up an image of the moon even though it is not physically present at the moment.
It's come a very long way
The moon is far away from where I am, but with enough concentration, I can create a mental image of it as if it were closer.
To play with your head
The moon is a symbol of how I can manipulate my thoughts and use my imagination to affect my emotional state.
And the soles of your feet
I feel your presence near me, and the imaginary sensation of your feet pressing against my skin.
Are pressed against my skin
In my mind, I can feel your presence and your physical touch even though you are not physically with me.
But that's where it fades
The illusion fades when I start to lose concentration and my mind wanders away from the image I've created.
Yeah, that's how it ends
The intensity of the experience is finite and limited by the amount of focus and concentration that I can bring to it.
If I concentrate, if I give my all
To achieve the level of experience that I desire requires significant effort and focus from me.
The fog of thoughts evaporate
Clear thought and clarity emerge when I am completely focused on the task at hand, and other distractions fade away.
If I concentrate, I can disappear
If I give my full attention to something, I can become so immersed in it that I lose track of time and my sense of self.
Like a ringing church 'neath the perfect lane
The feelings and experiences that arise from concentration can be profound, like the sound of a church bell ringing out through a quiet country lane.
And if I lose myself the world appears
When I allow myself to become fully absorbed and lost in the moment, the world around me starts to come into focus in a new and different way.
Shaking the gold of the sun from her hair
Everything around me takes on a new depth and vibrancy, as if the sun is setting and reflecting off everything in a golden glow.
And the soul of the sea is pressed against my mind
My imagination can create an experience so real that it feels like the soul of the sea is pressing against my mind, filling me with wonder and inspiration.
Joy in the air, arms open wide
The experience fills me with a sense of joy and wonder, that makes me feel like spreading my arms wide and embracing the excitement of the moment.
Though I concentrate
Throughout the song, the act of concentration remains central to the theme of the song, and the creative projection of a world that exists within oneself.
Yes, I concentrate
The repeated emphasis on concentration underscores the importance of focused attention in generating creative experiences and breakthroughs.
Oh
An exclamation of wonder and excitement as the artist revels in the power of concentration to transform raw experience into something substantial, magical, and deeply personal.
Contributed by Charlie C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.