Kristian Matsson is a Swedish singer songwriter who goes by the moniker of The Tallest Man On Earth, and for the past 7 years or so, he has been crafting a string of solid albums that hold true to the roots of what folk music was in the 60s and 70s. He has been compared to greats such as Bob Dylan for his songwriting and even the sound of his voice which tends to sound a little nasal. However, despite the comparisons, Kristian has been able to create a sound that is uniquely him and has garnered him a lot of praise. However, as folk artists tend to do, Matsson has been slowly adding more and more instrumentation to his tracks, to the point where an album as bare bones as The Wild Hunt seems like a distant past, despite only being released 5 years ago.
I have to be honest and say that I wasn't the biggest fan of his last album. Though that had a bit more to do with the fact that the songs that Matsson was writing didn't seem to fit his new found fondness for more instrumentation. And upon hearing the initial singles from this latest album, I knew I was in for even more evolution is regards to the fleshing out of Matsson's backing instrumentation. But, I actually think, for the most part, that the songs here are more fit to the instrumentation than they were on There's No Leaving Now.
The album opens up with what are easily the two most instrumentally lavish tracks on the entire album, especially the track "Darkness of the Dream" which is downright poppy and also kind of reminds me of a gospel song? Then we get the more folky, though lyrically odd "Singers" which has a rather wordy chorus that is more of a tongue twister than I'd expect from a guy who is usually very blunt and to the point when it comes to lyrics. Other highlights include the piano led "Little Nowhere Towns" and the peppy "Timothy" which is probably the brightest track on the entire album instrumentally.
It is important to note that there aren't really many quite, subdued moments on Dark Bird Is Home as all the added instrumentation keeps most all of these tracks from being as personal and contemplative as a track like "Drying of the Lawns" was on The Wild Hunt, though the lyrics here are bit more personal, with Matsson singing more from the first person than ever before.
While I do think this album is really solid, and I like it a lot, I do miss Matsson's more subtle approach to songwriting. What makes an album like The Wild Hunt so amazing is not just the fantastic vocals and guitar playing that Kristian possesses, but the fact that he could make a song so powerful with nothing but those two components. There's nothing as energized and urgent as a track like "King of Spain" on Dark Bird Is Home, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but could have made this album feel a bit more important in the Tallest Man On Earth canon.
This album is, like I said, a very good one, but I think this may simply be the stepping stone to Matsson either making an album that finally marries the best of his early and later material, or the big release of instrumentation before a more contemplative release.
8.0/10
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