Ronan O'BrienPoet & composer David Keenan returns with his fourth studio album, Modern Mythologies. Bringing forward the old Irish tradition of storytelling through the lens of a modern world, the Dundalk native beautifully carves imagery through his music once again.
David Keenan
Absorbing ancient Irish lore and stories as a child, Keenan credits his love of storytelling to his grandparents. Discovering this love of self-expression through poetry and music, he felt a calling. Failing school exams only propelled him to follow his passion. Following in the footsteps of many Irishmen and women before him, he took a ferry to Liverpool and began busking. Garnering more stories and experiences, Keenan finely applied this to his art.
Returning to Ireland, the ambition was to further cultivate this art of storytelling, and encompass it in an official release. Following a number of self-released EPs, Keenan’s debut album, A Beginner’s Guide to Bravery was released in 2019. Further honing his immaculate skill of storytelling through music, his follow-up album “WHAT THEN?” blew me away in 2021. The third, Crude, followed a year later, which saw a far more raw, intimate style, deviating from his usual approach. Keenan has returned to his roots in Modern Mythologies, detailing the hilarity and sometimes tepidity of life in modern Ireland.
Amelioration, baby!
Utterly sweet guitar tone and saturated drums accompany Keenan, detailing relationship troubles. “I touch your face with dirty fingers / Which sets you off on a tirade” presents the vexation with his lover. The hook is performed with such vigour, with a blaring trumpet. The fighting spirit can be felt through his tone, with gentle acquiesce settling in during the outro.
Keenan’s wonderful storytelling is displayed with immense talent on “50 Quid Man”. A quintessential chancer is narrated with roguish delight to a smooth instrumental backing. The character is relatable to those in modern Ireland, the type of individual who does odd jobs for cash. With descriptors like “He’s got your back / The dodgy box”, the subject of the story is painted to perfection.
“These are the streets I return to still” encapsulates the mood of “Suriname or Bust“. An incredibly yearning song, Keenan opens his heart to the audience. The desire to travel is definitive of many young Irish people, which Keenan conveys with great emotion. Perhaps even more poignant is the inevitability of returning home, and with it returning to the same problems one wished to escape from. A feeling few can describe with such lucidity, Keenan wraps this in a beautiful folk ensemble and presents it to the world.
Cosmic Sadness
A sweet, loving ballad in “Radiate A Smile“ is again decorated with fantastic lyricism. The humour in lines like “Scudders is still skulling bags of Galahad, oh I wish I Galahadn’t last night” are both infectious and hilariously familiar to the Irish youth. While the hook is catchy and simplistic, it’s certainly an earworm and heartwarming. Keenan performs the verses with a lilt akin to rapping, and the backing vocals are ethereally spiritual.
A much sadder lament follows in “Lives Left Out To Dry“, introduced by a lone acoustic guitar. While the instrumental tones are beautifully sweet, the lyrical content paint only death and loneliness. The narration is heartbreaking yet exquisite, and the opening lines repeat solemnly at the closing of the track; “She died quietly watching Strictly Come Dancing”.
While Keenan’s lyricism is his forte, appreciation needs to be shown for his guitar work, especially in “Romantic In Me“. Fantastic tone and a rare solo from the man really stand out in this track, while the lyricism is introspective. It feels at times he pours some of his very soul into these tracks, with this one being a stark example.
Prejudice Seeks Prejudice Out
Further heartbreak is conveyed in “Copper Vat“. Another wonderfully composed juxtaposition, the slightly upbeat melody is paired with mournful lyricism. Themes of addiction which ravage rural Ireland is addressed with one rhetorical question; “How many lives are ruined by the copper vat?” Delivered with an almost defeated manner, the hook is supported with backing vocals, imitating an elegy.
A country-tinged ditty follows in “The Fool’s Gold“. A personal highlight of the record, Keenan’s vocals are sweet, matched with stomping percussion and intermittent guitar riffs. The vocal display is so powerful here, as Keenan navigates through his narration with effortless precision. The ironic humour shines through wonderfully too, especially in the lines “Do you think you’re somebody, a big rockstar / Sure then he sped off laughing in his shitty car”.
The love letter of “Rebel Tune“ is yearning yet sweet. A piano ballad with another incredible vocal display, the emotion can be felt in Keenan’s delivery. The reiterance of “I will love you like you deserve to be loved” is reminiscent of an underdog love story. There is soul in his voice, but with a defeatist attitude. However, the sweetness of this declaration of unrequited love is what really shines through.
My God It’s Good
The instrumental of “Poison Water“ would fool anyone into thinking it’s an upbeat, dance-rock track. The lyricism paints a contrasting message, one of life in a paramilitary warzone. A life many Irish people know all too well, the lyricism paints a picture of generational trauma that follows. Drinking from the so-called “poison water” is the direct cause of malcontent. As Keenan’s commentary infers, “your inheritance was a skip and a chip on both shoulders”.
The mood shifts once again with the poetic “We Live, We Learn, We Love“. The snare cracks so harshly, with piano and guitar painting a soulful melody. A spoken-word interlude in the song only adds to the narration. One of self-healing, Keenan confronts his inner struggles; “I put away the stick you used to beat yourself with”.
The album closes with another highlight in “Incandescent Morning“. Accompanied by just a guitar, his low voice is the star, echoing soulfully. Almost sacrilegious, the lyrics combine faith with the heathenish act of sex. The song is a perfect closer, resembling that of a sigh or exhale. Keenan has navigated through the album with utmost vulnerability, and this song is an acceptance of that.
Final Thoughts
An album that took three years to make, the meticulous efforts poured into every track is evident on first listen. Keenan plays to his strengths of storytelling and poetry, with the modernisation of themes only adding to the appeal of the album. Modern Mythologies is not just an album, but a collection of introspective thoughts and experiences, presented to the world with imagination and humility.
While the old tradition of storytelling may be a thing of the past, David Keenan certainly shows it has not fully disappeared. Stories are created daily, and Keenan invites us to tell our own. While I may try, I absolutely lack the generational talent that few have to do so. David Keenan is one fine example of those who can.
