The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt

Sweden's Kristian Matsson is a indie-folk prodigy of the highest degree. He epitomizes that old adage that "no matter what you do, how little you have, if you do it with heart, it'll sound awesome." Corny, I know, but his albums are a sort of victory for minimalists, almost what I feel like Conor Oberst strives for with Bright Eyes. This album in particular, I found on someone's "Best Of" list on Last.fm.

*Sidenote: I've been getting into Last.fm a lot more, and a lot of you are sending me your demos through that site; I promise I'll get to all of them.

Anyways, Matsson has created an album that could be the soundtrack to my life; both in the honest lyrics and simple guitars. It sounds like it was recorded on tape, which if so, only supports the overall motif of simplicity. It can be loud at points ("You're Going Back") without being too loud; it can be soft, but still be heard. He has incredible range to hit it all, keep it interesting, which is a quality that is hard for a one-man band to nail down. Matsson definitely does, much in the same fashion of Bob Dylan, without the extra instruments. Much like Dylan, there are few layers: it's purely Matsson and his guitar/banjo/piano. No gimmicks, no recording tricks, nothing unnatural. And for a indie-folk album, unnatural sounds will destroy it. It's a grey and rainy Sunday outside, and this album is the perfect companion for me in my living room.

1. The Wild Hunt
2. Burden of Tomorrow
3. Troubles Will Be Gone
4. You’re Going Back
5. The Drying of the Lawns
6. King of Spain
7. Love is All
8. Thousand Ways
9. A Lion’s Heart
10. Kids on the Run

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