A genre as timeless as folk possesses its icons of every age. From the wandering minstrels of ages past who passed tales on between generations to popular giants of the recording age the likes of Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan, the ability to articulate in a song that which lies within us all seems to have been deemed universally invaluable. Kristian Matsson is another such name of today’s generation. Performing as The Tallest Man on Earth, he has taken on the mantle of American folk music despite his Swedish origins and, while at 5’ 7” certainly not the tallest man on earth, could certainly be seen as one of the tallest flowers in the folk field. From acclaimed debut Shallow Grave and across three subsequent records, he’s proved himself far more than just a dude with a guitar and become one of the most consistent songwriters of the times, inevitable comparisons to the aforementioned folk legends both favorable and earned.
Matsson returns now with I Love You. It’s a Fever Dream, his fifth record and first in four years. Recorded and produced entirely by Matsson himself, it’s a celebration of the simplicity and honesty of his work as it champions the three pillars of his music; his melodies, his voice and his guitar. While not quite stripped back to the bones, it certainly lays things bare in a way not quite felt since his first record and it’s an approach that makes sense, as Matsson explores the greatness within that which goes unnoticed, the idea “that so often the thing that deserves my attention is trying the least to get it”. It’s a sentiment most assuredly felt in the softer elements of the record. The rollicking country-rockers he’s known for the likes of ‘The Running Styles of New York’ and ‘I’m A Stranger Now’ have their characteristic thrill and place, no doubt, and would be missed. But he’s in a reflective mood here, and that comes out best in his lovely fingerpicked ballads in a way it hasn’t always done.
“All I can say is things will be fine”, is his sweetly heartbreaking refrain to the gorgeous opener ‘Hotel Bar’ while the flittering banjo of ‘My Dear’ gives it the cleansing charm of the summer storm of its lyrics. It’s in these he loses the Dylan croak a bit and feels sincere, awash in the swirl of time around a sole life, “my body’s for the birds and me and my mind is for the times they’re leaving, I want them but I let them go.” It’s further felt on the gentle plucks of ‘What I’ve Been Kicking Around’ and crowded bar timelessness in the strummed truisms of ‘I’ll Be A Sky’ (“I feel that I’m a little lost most of the time/But I don’t really mind, oh, when my heart feels strong”). Meanwhile, the harmonica is used to lovely effect on ‘There’s a Girl’ and the restrained rise and fall of ‘Waiting for My Ghost’. It’s a record of rare and timeless beauty, the songs beautifully written and intelligently crafted, but then that’s what we’ve come to expect from The Tallest Man on Earth. While not peddling anything particularly new, Matsson’s legion of devoted fans will nonetheless find what they want and more in I Love You. It’s A Fever Dream. The skeptics will likely stay that way, but then you get the sense that’s the least of Matsson’s concerns.
