Han är inte precis den längsta mannen på jorden...

The Tallest Man On Earth.

The above-mentioned quote is from a review of a gig by The Tallest Man On Earth in Malmö sometime this fall. So, I don't know how tall Kristian Matsson, the man behind the towering alias, actually is, but I really don't think it matters much. I got his 2010 album The Wild Hunt last week, and I must say it has hit home instantly! I have never been a big Bob Dylan listener, and I'm no big fan of guys who sound like they swallow a dozen ashtrays each morning, but Matsson somehow manages to retain his credibility and sensitiveness, a trait so important when you do the whole guy-and-a-guitar thing.


The Wild Hunt is simply jam-packed with little guitar gems, such as 'Burden of Tomorrow' or 'You're Going Back' or 'Love Is All', but Matsson really hits home on the final tune, 'Kids On The Run', where he substitutes the guitar for an old, out of tune piano, which sounds just magical. And the best thing is; he's coming to Roskilde! I'm looking forward to listening to this being surrounded by warm and happy people!


Another new album I got is, quite curiously perhaps, M83's critically acclaimed Saturdays = Youth from 2008. What's with that now? Well, every once in a while I like to go a few years back and check out some of the stuff that was high on some of the end-of-year lists, and M83 placed a whopping eighth on Pitchfork's in '08. I've always somehow been drawn by the title, and I decided to jump on it on the spur of the moment. I haven't been disappointed. It's a curious mix of atmospheric stuff (think Enya, first and last time she'll ever get mentioned here), more straightforward 80s pop in the mold of Pet Shop Boys and shoegazing a'la The Cocteau Twins. There are layers and layers of synthesizers, grandiose drumming and angelic (sometimes a bit too corny) vocals.


OK, it does become a bit tedious in the long run (it lasts an hour), but the upper half of it is marvelous. I guess this is the kind of music you either love or hate massively, and I think you have to be sort of prepared and in the right mood for it, but tunes like the obvious 'Kim & Jessie', the intense ("All her soft parts call to me, she could be mine", anyone?) 'Skin Of The Night' and the epic 'Couleurs', all in the top half of the record, are very strong. But it is extremely eighties, and I'm curious to see how its longevity will prove to be. I don't think it will ever hit me as much as it did at first listen, which was an absolute trip!


A lot of other stuff on my board now, with leaks of both James Blake's and Thulebasen's new albums, exciting!