Griffin House: Lost and Found : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The guitar riff dripping in digital delay, not unlike Unforgettable Fire-era U2, makes for a dramatic opener of Griffin House's debut. Lest you think twenty-four-year-old House is on some Eighties nostalgia trip, though, the effects roll back by the second track in favor of sparse acoustic accompaniment, bare-bones drums and vocals so earnest that they flirt with flatness. By the third song, "Tell Me a Lie," Lost & Found is as captivating melodically as it is lyrically ("Dressing my voice up on the phone/Underneath the envy rotting my bones . . . You can blame it on the stuff that I drank and the pills that I took"). From contemplative folk ("Why Won't You Believe?") to rickety near-rockabilly ("The Way I Was Made"), House's voice proves resilient as it follows the dynamics of each tune. Hopefully, on his next disc it'll be more Jeff Buckley and less Bono.