6.21.2010

CD REVIEW: Griffin House "The Learner"

The Learner
Griffin House has slowly become one of the greatest singer/songwriters making music over the last decade. His newest album shatters the mold that he has used to create excellent albums in the past, and takes a fresh approach at delivering fine music. Griffin House has managed to incorporate about a half a dozen of his best lyrical compositions on this album. The first single from the album is "She Likes Girls" and is a very tongue-in-cheek portrayal of what is is like to try to bring a girl back from the other side. "Let My People Go," "River City Lights," and "Just Another Guy" are all album standouts. Griffin has proven that the essence of a great album, at its very core, is the lyrics. He is a poet, he is a storyteller, and he is a human. These three characteristics together allow him to put down raw emotion on paper and then onto tape, and the listener benefits like never before. He could possibly be this generation's Dylan or Lennon or Simon, but he is not. He is his own entity and his music stands up on it's own. "The Learner" is a defining moment in Griffin House's career, and it is going to be hard to top. Fortunately Griffin House doesn't have to do better, he only needs to continue to create his music just as he has for the past decade or so.