It has been fascinating to watch Monique Grimme‘s music gradually move from the more mainstream, rock-leaning territory of her earlier work into something increasingly worldly, sometimes even otherworldly, exotic, and sonically adventurous. There is nothing wrong with what came before—it was a perfectly valid musical playground—but with The Inner Temple (Songs of Transformation), she appears to have found a space that is much more distinctly her own.
These are, as the title suggests, songs concerned with transformation, and perhaps some of those messages might have been obscured amid the guitars and conventions of her earlier, less spacious, sound. Here, music and meaning dance together with far greater freedom, often just voice and beat as the main components.
“Magic of Positivity (Sonic Ritual)”, which features guest artist Wickliffe Mott, sets the tone of what’s to come, blending tabla rhythms and the oud’s culturally recognizable sound with Western songwriting to create a track infused with North African spice and Middle Eastern sonic hues. It is neither entirely traditional nor obviously contemporary; instead, it occupies an intriguing space somewhere between the two, outside time and chronology, fashion or fad.
“Wisdom & Fools” moves with a subtle, soft, gently shifting rhythm, the percussion seemingly drifting like the desert sands as ancient wisdom is delivered to a modern listener. Fluttering flutes and Moorish-influenced strings add further texture, giving the song a primal quality and the languid beauty of its movement, evoking the slow, delicate flow of the Nile Delta.
Perhaps the most revealing transformation comes with “Cut By A Rose”. In its earlier incarnation, the song was closer to a classic rock ballad, with echoes of the polished songwriting associated with Fleetwood Mac. Here, however, it has been completely reimagined. The more conventional rock framework has given way to shifting rhythms and almost shamanic movement. It feels ritualistic, hypnotic, and beguiling—a song that has traveled from the modern world into the realm of the mystical.
“Compassion” strips things back even further. Almost entirely a cappella, it places Grimme’s vocals at the center, allowing the human voice itself to become both instrument and atmosphere. There are echoes of Karl Jenkins‘ Adiemus recordings in the way language, vocal texture, and melody blur together, creating something ethereal and strangely timeless.
“Love & Harmony” brings this journey to a fitting conclusion, wandering between an Afrobeat groove and moments of delicate chanting and sonic spaciousness.
The Inner Temple (Songs of Transformation) is an album that doesn’t simply talk about transformation; it embodies it. Through these songs, it feels like Grimme is stepping beyond the familiar and discovering that the further she travels from convention, the more clearly her own musical identity comes into focus.