When I first heard "Shallow grave", a part of me was glad that many of my friends either don't much care for Bob Dylan or were more into the electronica-tinged indie-rock/pop that was (and still is) coming out -- without trying to keep The Tallest Man on Earth my little secret, I was one of the few people I knew who really enjoyed Kristian Matsson's music. Visiting Stockholm the summer after "Shallow grave" was released, Matsson played an outdoor show at Debaser. Refusing to pay the entrance fee, my friends and I sat on the stairs nearby. Those that didn't know of his music beforehand were converted, those of us who liked the self-titled EP and "Shallow grave" were awestruck. A few years later, Pitchfork and others have called Matsson's sophomore effort "The wild hunt" one of the best records of 2010, and, despite my mixed feelings regarding certain popular music sites, good on them: It's nice to see some light shone on a talent like The Tallest Man on Earth and, despite not making my Top 10 (a rather distressing oversight, to be honest), "The wild hunt" truly deserves to be recognized as one of the finest efforts of the year.
"Sometimes the blues is just a passing bird" is a fitting addition to Matsson's catalogue. Taking advantage of the EP format, the songs don't necessarily feel as strongly connected as the tracklists of "Shallow grave" and "The wild hunt", but this does little harm to the record's content. There are a few small departures from the usual 'a man and his acoustic guitar'-approach of previous recordings: the clean electric guitar and subtle overdubbing on "The dreamer" are wonderful, as is the piano in "Like the wheel". The lyrics are once again so good that it begs the question why someone whose first language is Swedish can write circles around most lyricists whose mother tongue is English -- "And I said, 'Oh my Lord, why am I not strong like the branch that keeps hangmen hanging on?'" Hopefully Matsson's creative output in 2011 will mirror that of 2010 -- I can't think of too many artists I would prefer new material from than The Tallest Man on Earth. - Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Preview a few tracks from Swedish indie act Tony Clifton off their upcoming record "At sixes and sevens", due out in March: http://soundcloud.com/tonyclifton
Having blossomed into a three-piece, with Anna Moberg making her debut on "Origami", Fredrik's newest effort builds on the dreamscapes explored on the collected EPs of "Trilogi". The introduction of a new member often changes a group's sound, for the better in Fredrik's case, but it's subtle; the "Origami" EP could have been included alongside the three collected in "Trilogi" without feeling forced or tacked on. The same ethereal quality remains, but the first two tracks on "Origami", "Dance of the peacock phantom" and "White on white", feel more focused than many of the efforts on "Trilogi", all without seeming divorced from the contemplative nature of that record. The layering on these first two tracks is wonderful, creating a lush soundscape that doesn't feel rushed through despite the relatively short lengths of the songs, and yet unveils new aspects with each listen. Closer "ABC", clocking in at almost seven minutes, is gorgeous: meditative without meandering, the constant percussion driving the airy instrumentation along, giving a sense of tangibility to the abstract composition. If this is a taste of what's to come, I'm excited to see what Fredrik have planned for 2011. - Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Niki and the Dove (#8) and Oh Land (#13) make NME's list of "20 bands you need to hear in 2011" which probably means that the hype of these probably overrated acts will be deafening.
Every moment has me falling further and further behind. The list of music that deserves coverage grows longer by the day and I can barely keep up, to say nothing of everything else I've got going on. One such title I've been meaning to talk up for awhile now is Mack Johansson's solo debut "New Sweden", so here's a great uneasy ballad from said disc. Perhaps a few of you will recognize Mack as the frontman for the very excellent Hyacinth House, one of my absolute favorite dark country acts and a band I've done my best to talk up for multiple years now, so no surprise that I find myself mentioning his work yet again. However, Mack's work under his own name is a slightly different beast: similar twang, but definitely far less dark/more overtly pop. Not necessarily a bad thing when done right, but a sidestep that took me a bit off-guard. So I'm approaching this cautiously, optimistic that it'll win me over eventually, much in the same way that Hyacinth House's last record "Black crows' country" took time to grow on. For now I'm favoring the slower, more gentle tunes such as this; we'll wait on the rest.
Scandinavian bands I recognize from The Onion's annual worst band names list: The Lovable Tulips, Apoptygma Berzerk, Kyklooppien Sukupuutto. I'm probably missing a few, but no way am I clicking through each and every one to find out where they're from. Anyhow, check out the rest of the list here: http://www.avclub.com/articles/2010-the-year-in-band-names,49559/
The final 12 nominees for the first annual Nordic Music Prize have been announced:
Dungen - Skit i allt Paleface - Helsinki – Shangri-La Frisk Frugt - Dansktoppen møder Burkina Faso i det himmelblå rum hvor solen bor, suite Susanne Sundfør - The Brothel Robyn - Body talk Jónsi - Go Do Efterklang - Magic Chairs Serena Maneesh - S-M 2: Abyss in B Minor The Radio Dept. - Clinging to a scheme Ólöf Arnalds - Innundir skinni Kvelertak - Kvelertak First Aid Kit - The big black & the blue
The Tallest Man on Earth
Fredrik
