The Tallest Man On Earth, The Wild Hunt
Featured Album
This may be folk, but it's rarely slow and quiet and brooding
The Wild Hunt, the sophomore outing from Sweden's Kristian Matsson, a.k.a. The Tallest Man on Earth, picks up where his 2008 full-length debut Shallow Grave left off, with the artist hewing close to a simple solo-acoustic-troubadour approach. Owing to the heavy nasal twang of his vocals, Matsson has racked up the usual comparisons to early Dylan, and while the affectation is perhaps a tad contrived, it's a defining characteristic of his artistry, and it works largely because of the passion with which he sings and plays.
Matsson's music fares best at its most melodic. On "Burden Of Tomorrow," he reaches for the emotional high notes of an instantly catchy chorus. His songs flow like a swift current, hastened by his deft and brisk pick-and-strum rhythms (especially on "King Of Spain"); this may be folk, but it's rarely slow and quiet and brooding. The final track, "Kids On The Run," is an auspicious change of pace, its ringing and echoing piano chords hinting at a whole new world waiting for Matsson to explore.
