I Don't Know How to Talk Anymore

Felsen’s Andrew Griffin loves classic rock, both the obvious and the obscure. He sings about this love and his need to help save the music with a voice and style that recalls Matthew Sweet at his most countryfied—especially on the title track, “Greetings from the Ghost of Heavy Metal Rock and Roll,” and the Rolling Stones–referential “Gimme Shelter for the Devil.” Unlike most singer/songwriters who dare try to create rock-song-qua-rock-songs, Griffin turns in performances that find a beauty of their own, with just the right vocals and harmonies and small, sharp band arrangements. Griffin works a similar magic on his personal life. The block harmonies that cement the hook of “Lorazepam” are so precise that they turn the lyrics into something nearly inconsequential. Yet if you listen to the tales told here, you’ll hear a man who explains his life in great, unsparing detail.