Modern Mythologies is precisely what the title suggests it is, a collection of stories set in and around modern lives that we can all recognise and learn from. The only difference between these tales and the stories of old, of Cú Chulainn and Finn MacColl, King Arthur and Robin Hood, is time.
But here we are in more recognisable places, the streets and memory lanes of your hometown, surrounded by characters and family, friends and lovers who move through your life. Personal snapshots of the artist’s life linked to timeless themes, intimate yet universally familiar.
A folk sound lies at the heart of the album, but, as with all great music, it is not as simple as that. As we explore these modern real-life fables, they are shot through with pop, rock, and soul influences. “Amelioration” (which I now know means to seek improvement of a situation) opens as a gentle soul-soaked, pop piece, a heady blend of imploring vocals and seductive horns, and “50 Quid Man” has the feel of a long lost Deacon Blue track, and that, in my world at least, is high praise.
“Poison Water” must also be singled out for such praise, although, to be fair, there isn’t a track on the album that doesn’t justify your shouting its praises from the rooftops. Rock driven and running through a soundscape full of clever dynamics, it is at turns big and clashing, understated and seductive, funky and groovesome, explosive and intimate. Phew, Eh Reader?
“We Live, We Learn, We Love,” reminds us that David Keenan is the heir to the poetry and philosophy of a very unique and uniquely creative land, here taking those traditions and using them to talk about our difficult times, in modern language but with the same literary and sonic falir, even employing a sort of lilting and sharply observed Celtic rap.
So many singer-songwriters claim to be storytellers, showing their true colors when it is found that the story they have to tell is merely self-aggrandising, inconsequential, and uninteresting. David Keenan is the antithesis of that; these are true tales of our times, this is a compelling album, and the songs are rightly titled Modern Mythologies.
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