After spending several weeks with There’s No Leaving Now, I was really looking forward to hearing Kristian Matsson, aka The Tallest Man on Earth. Not only did I get to see him grace the stage, but the show was at Paramount, which is perfectly fitting for music of this ilk.
Read on for more pics and comments from the set.
It seems like Kristian Mattson is on a roll, musically speaking. His music has progressed through his first two albums, and he continues his own tradition with his latest release as The Tallest Man on Earth, There’s No Leaving Now. At this point in his career, his voice and musical stylings have become familiar, making the work on this album more personal.
Upon listening to the first track, “To Just Grow Away,” I noticed that his guitar playing has changed a little bit; there’s an intricacy to the picking of the strings, rather than the heavier handed strumming of earlier efforts. Surprisingly, there’s also a softness to his distinctive Dylan-esque drawl…it all points to bright things on There’s No Leaving Now. You’ll find more changes as you move into “Revelation Blues,” though I’ll admit they’re a bit more subtle. The musical accompaniment, which has always remained sparse, if even present, is much more noticeable this go round, such as the rolling drum in the background on this track. Personally, I think it helps fight off naysayers who would say he’s not really progressing; clearly, he’s adding slight touches to change his game.
I think that The Tallest Man on Earth definitely has softened a bit. Kristian always had just a hint of that off-pitch delivery, but he’s warmed the edges of his vocal instrument on this effort. ”1904,” one of the standout tracks, features a chorus where he goes after higher notes than I’ve seen him go after before–and he succeeds in that for the most part. In doing so, he crafts one of the more emotional moments on the record, and you’ll keep coming back to the track due to his efforts. Later on in There’s No Leaving Now he warms you again with “Little Brother;” it’s just his vocals and guitar for the most part. But, aside from a polish to the voice, you begin to notice that Mattson’s grown as a lyricist to boot.
Despite the fact that Kristian’s denied sharing any allegiance to the folk tradition, he definitely has begun to take on a more emotional everyman approach with his lyrics. His stories seem rooted in personal experience, like on “There’s No Leaving Now,” but you can also see that such songs could be applied to your own life by stepping into Mattson’s shoes. They’re songs about love, about the trials and tribulations of life, but his usage of “you” often makes you wonder if he’s talking directly to you–this is perhaps what’s made Mattson so endearing.
I think the best thing that stands out on There’s No Leaving Now is that there’s a lot of variance in the songwriting this go round. Sure, there’s your traditional guitar and voice, but there’s also songs featuring some nice backing arrangements and even piano bits. It’s definitely still The Tallest Man on Earth, but it shows that Mattson’s willing to try new territory, or new twists; this is the sort of thing that makes us appreciate his work, not to mention the fact that it keeps us coming back again and again. As long as Kristian writes music this good, we’ll all be here for a long time, adoring everything he puts out.
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Download: The Tallest Man on Earth – 1904 [MP3]
It’s good to have Tallest Man on Earth back again, not that he’s really been gone, but you know what I mean. Rolling Stone posted this great new track, “1904″ from the songwriter today, and it’s exactly what you want from the man we fondly refer to as the Swedish Bob Dylan. There’s No Leaving Now is the title of the new record, set for release on June 12th on Dead Oceans. There’s a little bit of a change to Kristian’s vocals in the second half of the song, which hopefully shows that he’s looking to add something to his sound. In the end it’s not really going to matter much because he’s got this quality that makes everything he writes emotionally touching. He better be ready for more praise!
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Download: The Tallest Man on Earth – 1904 [MP3]
Apparently the hottest ticket in town belonged to The Tallest Man on Earth, which is both surprising and deserved. Of course the quiet atmosphere was surely ruined by the constant chatter that is ever present at Antones, but it didn’t stop the beautiful music offered from TME and the opening band S. Carey. Read More
To begin, I knew very little about Kristian Matsson and his project The Tallest Man on Earth. But, his second album, The Wild Hunt, will not only change that for me, but for many listeners across the globe. It’s easy to place the Swede’s work in a certain genre, even under a certain association with a famed folk hero, but throughout the duration, Matsson makes this album all his own, creating a beautiful piece of work to be played over and over again.
You’ll start The Wild Hunt with the two things that will stick with you eternally: incredible finger-picking and the uncanny resemblance to a young Boy Dylan. The former is one of those things that enables Kristian to pull out every single emotion from his tunes, carefully plotting where his fingers go with ease. The latter is something that might plague him, which is unfortunate, as every song on here stands on its own merit, creating a great collective song cycle.
A lot of folk music has the capability to seem redundant, especially when you feel as if you have heard the singer before, but a few deviations make The Wild Hunt rise above typical folk revivalists. For one, his songs are rather short, in comparison to similar artists. It allows him to make really succinct songs such as “Thousand Ways” or “Troubles Will Be Gone.” These songs will breath fresh air into your listening experience, and they’ll leave before you grow tired of hearing them blend into the next number. Then there is the tiniest vocal inflections he puts into his recorded performances that make Kristian stand out in what can sometimes be branded a stale world. Every slight move up or down on the scales, or every little yelp allows the vocals to stand on their own, rather than live in a world of comparisons.
Listening to this album time and time again, I found it difficult to discover a favorite track, as each listen, each mood evoked something different for me. At first, it was “King of Spain,” which comes off like a folk song written by a steam engine. On top of that, the subject matter of the song wins me over with its nod to the Iberian Peninsula. But, “You’re Going Back” took me in a different direction. It has hints, at least in the song structure of a lot of old punks who’ve turned to country, such as Chuck Ragan, with it’s throaty yell of “driver please don’t go that f**cking way” near the last minute of the tune. Here you find The Tallest Man on Earth getting carried away with his own passion, and that definitely makes each song a winner in my book.
Fortunately for me, this album came across my desk while I was in search of something calming, yet something challenging. The gentle moods created by songs like ‘The Drying of the Lawns” fit perfectly into what I needed at the time. Then I looked back at the whole of The Wild Hunt, and I found that each song had something to offer, and nothing to throw out the window. The Tallest Man on Earth has made a complete record worthy of repeat listening, now and forever.
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Download: Tallest Man on Earth – King of Spain [MP3]
