The Tallest Man on Earth

Artist: The Tallest Man on Earth
Album: Shallow Graves
Genre: Folk, Indie
Myspace: www.myspace.com/thetallestmanonearth

"Over the last half-century, the tag "Dylanesque" has been slapped on so many mediocre folksingers clutching battered Moleskines that it's become a meaningless joke, a critical hiccup, a silly, lazy way of invoking an age-old raspy voice/acoustic guitar combo. Still: It's exceptionally hard to talk about Scandinavian folksinger the Tallest Man on Earth (also known as Kristian Matsson) without mentioning Bob Dylan's early years, mostly because Matsson manages to embody Dylan's effortlessness so well, infusing his songs with a detachment that, miraculously, is neither cold nor alienating. Like Dylan, Matsson is so natural a songwriter that these tracks feel predetermined, tumbling out of his mouth with an ease and grace that's increasingly uncommon.

Shallow Grave is his full-length debut. The production is appropriately scrappy, and it seems relatively safe to assume that the album was recorded live with one microphone-- accordingly, we hear the scratch of fingernails on string (and, on occasion, the chirping of birds in the background), made privy to each tiny exhalation and sigh. Matsson is an adept fingerpicker, and his guitar is easily as central as his voice, which is high, crackling, and rich. Much like Dylan himself, Matsson has mined the American south for inspiration, and his frantic strumming and front-porch poetry recall everyone from the Carter Family to Lead Belly to, most noticeably, country bluesman Mississippi John Hurt." -Pitchfork Media, Amanda Petrusich, May 6, 2008

Tracklist:
1. I Won't Be Found (2:47)
2. Pistol Dreams (3:34)
3. Honey Won't You Let Me In (2:56)
4. Shallow Grave (2:37)
5. Where Do My Bluebirds Fly (3:17)
6. The Gardner (3:56)
7. The Blizzard's Never Seen the Desert Sands (2:01)
8. The Sparrow and the Medicine (3:06)
9. Into the Stream (2:47)
10. This Win (3:24)

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