Matt Griffin's strength is that he writes the thinking mans's amalgam of folk-infused rock... or is it rock-infused folk?... that eschews an intellectual preciousness for the kind of visceral force that gets into your hips and compels  you to move to its primal rhythms. Forty Minutes Off Your Trip is full of seemingly simple songs that are deceptively  complex, about a surprisingly broad range of topics, all coming from a talented musician with a clear and true eye, and an honest heart.

From the mysterious (What's Become), to the intensely personal (Give You My Heart; Of Winners), to the political (This is Home), to the uniquely observant (Sleeping in Church; Man at the Crossroads), to the obligatory but atypical love songs (Fell in Love, At Sea with Love), the writing is consistently strong and refreshingly poetic. Even the songs that seem intimately personal to this writer have a universal bent, passing my litmus test for compelling music.

Griffin's warm and open voice is adaptable to the myriad styles he adopts, and he makes unerring choices in his accompanying musicians, particularly Susan Barnaby Travis on harmony vocals. One finds the memorable, sometimes haunting melodies, along with some of the  surprising counterpoint harmonies, rattling around the back of your head at random moments for days after a listening.  This is a fine recording worthy of space on the shelf of those uninterested in same old/same old.
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This album is very heartfelt. Great singing and songwriting. I liked it better than the Mars Volta album, the reunion of Jane's Addiction, the Celene Dion show in Las Vegas and the tribute to Robert DeNiro on television combined. It is great to see that a graduate of P.S. Bingo is still alive and kicking.
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