The genre of indie folk can provide some of the most fulfilling music possible, but as a rule, it’s incredibly difficult to create something wholly original. Among the likes of Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and Sufjan Stevens, it has become nigh impossible for a musician to write and record an album that only has the stamp of one artist on the cover. Enter, The Tallest Man on Earth; the musical alias of Kristian Matsson. Matsson has been acclaimed for his song-writing, his recording style and the kinship his recordings hold with Bob Dylan, and all of these have led to albums that have been met with significant critical responses and increasing commercial success in and outside his native Sweden.
Matsson’s style has all the calling cards of a great musician. His penchant for open-tuned guitars and intricacy in his playing harks to the likes of Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake, and his ability to record these guitars while simultaneously singing (and getting good results) puts many a recording artist to shame.
Furthermore, there are many parallels in sound that can be drawn when listening to Dark Bird is Home: this, Kristian Matsson’s latest record. Idiosyncrasies surrounding his singing, overall flair for melody and the final sound of the record hold similarities with Bright Eyes and The War on Drugs, but any asinine lines drawn (by others) between The Tallest Man on Earth and José González are merely due to their shared nationality.
Slave Ambient, The War on Drugs’ second album (of three so far), itself was likened to Bob Dylan; and much of this was due to Adam Granduciel’s vocal resemblance for the contemporary folk legend. If there wasn’t a label on the record in front of me saying ‘Dark Bird is Home by The Tallest Man on Earth’ while listening to “Seventeen” – the penultimate track on said album – there’s a significant probability that an easy mistake would be made in saying this was a Granduciel solo record. However, this is not a singular similarity present as the opening salvo of “Dark Bird is Home” croons like The Killers’ Brandon Flowers and “Fields of Our Home” could be lifted straight from I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. Vocal style, though, is one thing that can be almost impossible to mould to sound differently. A signature ‘sound’ to a voice is unerring and the issue with Matsson’s vocal similarity to significant musical figures is not something that can be criticised (especially as this similarity has been present throughout his career).
The raw emotion and energy on show from The Tallest Man is made manifest on “Sagres”; arguably the strongest piece on Dark Bird is Home. This energy is something that has been present in his music since the release of his début, Shallow Grave and the singer’s unveiled enthusiasm for his own music affords the listener an avenue into the caffeinated coffee cup that is this track. The near-hyperactivity present on “Sagres” is the shroud that melancholy hides behind though. Lyrically, Matsson offers a snapshot that displays a less than happy existence as he struggles with “all this fucking doubt” and his fear of what’s inside. He describes himself and his love as “travellers so blind” as they don’t know what to expect from what is ahead of them and the internal tussles he experiences cause him to “drink until [he] sleep[s]”. This really forms a contradiction as the elation present in the composition is dichotomous when compared to the prose.
The album as a whole works as a photo album offering insights into the psyche of Kristian Matsson. Each piece is a doorway to a varying point in his life, with “Fields of Our Home”, “Slow Dance” and “Beginners” all opening the door to different times. “Beginners” is a country-tinged track that screams Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst in its depiction of naiveté of teenagers planning a future as he tells that “You and I we belong on these wild and wonderful trails”. The imperfect guitar work only adds to the energy with which this song is played as The Tallest Man seems to be invigorated at the mere thought of a positive future for the subject of his song.
The diversity in composition on Dark Bird is Home is another positive presence. Some songs continue to follow the roots of contemporary folk music, in that they focus on one man and his guitar, but others take the form of expansively textured pieces that are more ‘The War on Drugs’ than they are ‘Nick Drake’. “Seventeen” and the aforementioned “Sagres” are examples of these layered songs that, while having an acoustic guitar at the fore, feature Americana keys, atmospheric percussion and lyrics that elicit incredible imagery of landscapes. This is where the photo album that is Dark Bird is Home is at its most impressive as Matsson paints vivid pictures with his words. He depicts the frustrated world of a seventeen year-old that dreams of travelling but cannot due to the restrictions adolescence imposes. The emotive delivery, despite the portrayal of a character other than himself, brings to mind many of the best singers in music’s past and present and this illustrates the strengths that The Tallest Man on Earth holds in his compositions and performance.
While Dark Bird is Home will never be hailed as the most original work in indie folk music, it can be considered a strong album. In the same way that The Black Keys or modern day Johnny Marr don’t proffer anything new to modern rock per se, neither does The Tallest Man on Earth to indie folk. But that isn’t to say that these artists are not worthy of merit; quite the opposite. They all form music that is well thought-out, effectively carried through and expertly written, and this is what can be said of the music of Kristian Matsson’s latest The Tallest Man on Earth record…
Release: 11th May 2015
Genre: Indie Folk / Alternative Country / Americana
Previous Works: There’s No Leaving Now (2012), The Wild Hunt (2010) and Shallow Grave (2008).
Contemporaries: Bright Eyes, Sufjan Stevens and The War on Drugs.
Influences: Bob Dylan, Bon Iver and Nick Drake.
You can buy a digital copy of Dark Bird is Home on iTunes here and the CD/vinyl on Amazon here.
