Post by Zapp Brannigan on Feb 6, 2011 15:44:27 GMT -5
www.lifessweetbreath.com/reviews/albums/14-sometimes-the-blues-is-just-a-passing-bird.html
The Tallest Man On Earth - Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird
[Dead Oceans, 2010]
90%
Singer/songwriter Kristian Matsson surprises us with a 5-song EP entitled Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird a mere five months removed from dropping the masterpiece The Wild Hunt. Finally we have something to break us from the perpetual loop we get stuck in after being unable to stop listening to The Wild Hunt.
Matsson once again displays his incredible knack for invoking intense feelings of being safe and comfortable deep inside his simple music. Rarely do the tracks involve more than guitar and his vocals, but he is mastering the art of filling out the chords at the right points in the song, or adding a touch of piano here or there. On “The Dreamer”, which includes the line for which the EP was named, Matsson even goes electric. Simply strummed clean electric guitar chords provide the backdrop for his thought provoking lyrics.
The incredible thing about his music is how truly simple it is. “Like The Wheel” is a delicately picked acoustic guitar with melodies that never stray far from what we know. Despite this, everything is portrayed in a brand new light, that could really only be Matsson’s soul pouring out of the music. This is a songwriter who is continually growing and learning (English isn’t even the Swede’s native tongue).
Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird reiterates what The Tallest Man On Earth has shown us up until this point: sometimes the most beautiful music also happens to be the most simple. It’s all about the soul.
- Jeff Pearson, September 8, 2010
The Tallest Man On Earth - Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird
[Dead Oceans, 2010]
90%
Singer/songwriter Kristian Matsson surprises us with a 5-song EP entitled Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird a mere five months removed from dropping the masterpiece The Wild Hunt. Finally we have something to break us from the perpetual loop we get stuck in after being unable to stop listening to The Wild Hunt.
Matsson once again displays his incredible knack for invoking intense feelings of being safe and comfortable deep inside his simple music. Rarely do the tracks involve more than guitar and his vocals, but he is mastering the art of filling out the chords at the right points in the song, or adding a touch of piano here or there. On “The Dreamer”, which includes the line for which the EP was named, Matsson even goes electric. Simply strummed clean electric guitar chords provide the backdrop for his thought provoking lyrics.
The incredible thing about his music is how truly simple it is. “Like The Wheel” is a delicately picked acoustic guitar with melodies that never stray far from what we know. Despite this, everything is portrayed in a brand new light, that could really only be Matsson’s soul pouring out of the music. This is a songwriter who is continually growing and learning (English isn’t even the Swede’s native tongue).
Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird reiterates what The Tallest Man On Earth has shown us up until this point: sometimes the most beautiful music also happens to be the most simple. It’s all about the soul.
- Jeff Pearson, September 8, 2010