The Croft of Grimme’s Tales – Monique Grimme (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

You could argue that stories define us as a culture. Such myths and legends, such tales, might seem just that —tales —but at their best, they contain tropes and archetypes, universal ideas and recognisable identities that explain how we perceive ourselves as individuals and how we view our civilization, its past events, and our aspirations for its future. Academic tomes might contain the facts, but fireside stories give us the truth.

And that is the message, in part, contained in The Croft of Grimme’s Tales, the long-awaited new album from Monique Grimme. It’s a place where poetry and melody entwine, each song a vivid story carried by Grimme’s enticing lyrics and music woven by friends and guest musicians based around Sappire Star Studio’s sonic entourage. Blending myth and personal experience, timeless concepts and real life, she crafts an album that feels both timeless and intimate.

“Fight-less Friends” is a tribute to sociality, friendship, and common bonds, even when we don’t always agree on everything. It’s not only something that holds family and friends together, but also the glue that bonds society, something we should be reminded of in these divided times. And it isn’t hard to hear the influence of ’80s Fleetwood Mac in this and other songs. However, everything is inspired by what has gone before, and it doesn’t get more tasteful or sophisticated than that, so why not? Why not indeed.

Recent single “Poison Ivy” blends the realities of living in an old location with the very real battles against invasive plants, and is perhaps also a metaphor for the greater, ongoing struggle between human ambitions and the forces of nature. “The Ballad of the Humble Clove” takes things down a notch, spacious and seductive, dark and delicious, before “When A Butterfly Alights” builds upon that space, creating even more beguiling atmospheres between the lyrical lines, around the beats, and underneath the gentle sonics.

The title track transports us to a mythical realm of fey folk and music as magic, and “Cut By A Rose” sees balladic rhythms and serene tones wrap around our narrator, as she reminds us that, like the rose, people, too, are contradictions—beauty beguiles, and the thorns we fail to see until it’s too late.

“Deep in My Soul (Epilogue)” acts as the perfect bookend, a blend of gentle anthemics and shards of emotive, voice-like guitars, a hymn to the power of music, the need for sonic expression and the messages it carries, both lyrically and in less tangeible ways, a creative form that speaks to our heads, our hearts and our very souls.

At its heart, The Croft of Grimme’s Tales has a powerful message: it reminds us that the most enduring legends are those written within our own families.