Wild Hunt by The Tallest Man on the Earth
LABEL: Dead Oceans

With a voice that strips bare your soul, and a knack for writing songs that feel as instantly familiar as they do timeless, The Tallest Man On Earth has quickly become one of the eminent folk/blues artists to watch, and his sophomore effort, Wild Hunt, proves that the success of his first release was no fluke.

Dominated almost solely by the interplay between his nasal, off-kilter singing (Dylan comparisons are inevitable) and sparse yet passionate guitar playing, this album is only subtly different from Shallow Grave—yet those differences are pretty important.

“That a young guy from Sweden could be one of the most compelling artists in a genre that is almost uniquely American is bizarre, to say the least.”

Wild Hunt is more confident, both in production and in tone. If his debut cast him as a down-on-his-luck, somewhat manic street busker, watching from the fringes, then here he’s firmly established himself center stage.

There really isn’t any particularly standout track on Wild Hunt, though here that isn’t a criticism. After a few listens almost all the songs reveal themselves to be interesting and engaging in their own way, though the catchy "King Of Spain" and pleasantly jaunty "The Wild Hunt" are the albums obvious singles, and were released as such.

There are a few missteps; the album’s closer, “Kids on the Run,” is a curious piano ballad that’s more then a little Springsteen-esque, and here or there a lyric will make you tilt your head.

But ironically, the source of Kristian Matsson’s, a.k.a. The Tallest Man’s, sometimes cobbled songwriting is also one of his greatest strengths.

That a young guy from Sweden could be one of the most compelling artists in a genre that is almost uniquely American is bizarre, to say the least. One can almost imagine him growing up, and possibly even learning English, wearing out old Dylan and Guthrie records in some dusty attic. But it’s his alternately reverent—and subtly fractured—take on a well-worn genre that makes him so compelling.

With Wild Hunt, the Tallest Man has secured his position and given credence to the steadily growing hype swirling around his music. I, for one, am very excited for his future.


BY MAT LINDENBERG
MAT’S FAVORITE TRACKS: “The Drying of the Lawns” • “King Of Spain” • “Love is All”
Read more from Mat on his blog, Everything is Unnecessary