Album: Dark Bird Is Home
Year: 2015
Rating: 81/100
Kristian Matsson, the main man behind The Tallest Man on Earth, has always been an enigmatic fellow with bags of talent to match his ambition. Having only recently incorporated electric guitar into his melancholic but melodious indie folk sound coupled with his undoubtedly passionate lyrics, he heads for his most ambitious work to date in the form of his fourth full-length effort, "Dark Bird Is Home".
Unlike his previous albums, Matsson has pushed the musical boat out further this time around, opting for some fuller sounds in place of the sparse "one man and his guitar" sound that has served him well. That he pulls it off for the most part owes a lot to his own raw talent. The only track that is solely performed and orchestrated by Matsson himself is the piano-led "Little Nowhere Towns", which is as sparse as it is beautiful. Elsewhere, alongside Matsson's guitar work sit instruments such as violin, saxophone, and various brass on songs like "Darkness of the Dream", "Slow Dance" and one of the album's main standout tracks, "Sagres". The latter in particular is a more upbeat offering than usual, as is the track that follows directly after it, "Timothy".
"Dark Bird Is Home" is, on the whole, a solid record without being truly spectacular. It highlights that Kristian Matsson is a reliable and hugely talented musician and shows that his expansion of his sound on the whole with a full band has worked well. I'll be interested to see where he goes from here, whether he reverts back to his basic roots or whether he continues his full band sound, as either would work a treat. Definitely a solid starting place for those new to The Tallest Man on Earth.
Track list
- Fields of Our Home
- Darkness of the Dream
- Singers
- Slow Dance
- Little Nowhere Towns
- Sagres
- Timothy
- Beginners
- Seventeen
- Dark Bird Is Home
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