Jun. 20, 2012 - Issue #870: Food Trucks
There’s No Leaving Now
The Tallest Man On Earth {recordings_bands_mg} There’s No Leaving Now {/recordings_bands_mg}
(Dead Oceans),
3
In a different place on the spectrum, I'd dare venture that Kristian Matsson, The Tallest Man On Earth, is one of the most capable solo musicians working today, whittling complicated guitar lines out on a six string while belting his heart out above the fray. He sings every song like it's his definite statement to the world, tackling the big emotions and hopes and defeats, whether he's singing about kids on the run or being the king of Spain, he sucks you in with no more of a band setup than you'd find at a low-key Saturday afternoon bar stage. There's No Leaving Now, Matsson's third album, finds him exploring larger song structures, multi-tracking instruments around his usual guitar/voice/heart setup. The expanded sound lets him colour with a larger palette of sonics, though in truth a lot it feels like unnecessary adornment: the hearts of these songs remain simple and stripped and vulnerable, as the piano and voice beauty of the title track reminds you how much silence and space matters to that equation as well. Filling every nook and cranny of headphones with notes tends to just clutter the feeling, in his case. Lyrically, he's as potent as always, with even drawn-out lines like "nothing's more revealing than the dancer in the doubt" still smacking of complete sincerity, but in the strength of both his storytelling and sense of melody, you believe in him absolutely, even at his more abstract. He hits the big emotions in such a way that you hang on every note and word.
That said, there's still a sharpness to his arrangements, even as they grow larger sizes: the background synths and foreground electric guitar plucks encase opener "To Just Grow Away" with a lush sentiment, and "Revelation Blues" probably best adorns itself with new sounds, adding little drums and multiple guitars to push the emotional core to the surface. Honestly, it feels like an adjustment album, as Matsson figures out how to incorporate a larger sound without sacrificing any of the genuine potency of his stripped-down heart songs. It's worth sticking with him to see where he goes. vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus
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