The gravelly-voiced Swedish crooner, Kristian Matsson, dubbed The Tallest Man on Earth, has released his latest single via the NPR wire. His surprisingly upbeat "Sagres" departs from his folk roots and brings in other nuances uncommon for a Tallest Man LP.
Recently, Matsson revealed the name and album art for his first release in three years. Along with the title, Dark Bird is Home, it was expected to be in a similar vein as his last musical hallmark, There's No Leaving Now. While the folkie seems to be running away at all times, he's made it clear: "That's fine."
A first listen of "Sagres" reveals what is perhaps the most produced and largest production to date by the musician. Normally, a minimal singer-songwriter, his studio albums usually feature a guitar player and his voice. It wasn't even until after The Wild Hunt that Matsson began to employ multi-track recording (he was cited as having a strict discipline for live recordings).
But as NPR puts it, the orchestration maintains a certain airiness to the track, maintaining a similar feel as the opening tracks to There's No Leaving Now. But Jim Beckmann writes, "Lush orchestration holds the airy melody aloft, as violin, mandolin, acoustic and electric guitar, castanet punctuated percussion and haunting backing vocals join in the soul-searching quest."
Along with the latest single, he has also announced an international full band tour. See dates below.
Dark Bird is Home will be available via Dead Oceans on May 12
2015 Tour:
05-13 Northampton, MA - Calvin Theatre
05-14 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
05-16 Upper Darby, PA - Tower Theatre
05-18 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
05-21 Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
05-26 Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre
05-27 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
05-28 Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
05-29 Durham, NC - Durham Performing Arts Center
05-31 Washington, DC - Lincoln Theater
06-03 New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
06-19-21 Hilvareenbeek, Netherlands - Best Kept Secret Festival
06-19-21 Scheessel, Germany - Hurricane Festival
06-19-21 Munich, Germany - Southside Festival
06-23 London, England - Koko
06-24 Antwerp, Belgium - Openlucht Theater
06-25 Paris, France - Divan Du Monde
06-28-29 Stockholm, Sweden - Göta Lejon
06-30 Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
06-27-07-04 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-02 Gothenburg, Sweden - Pustervik
07-17-19 Eau Claire, WI - Eaux Claires Festival
07-17-19 Louisville, KY - Forecastle Festival
10-12 Cologne, Germany - E-Werk
10-13 Berline, Germany - Huxley's
10-14 Vienna, Austria - Arena
10-15 Milan, Italy - Alcatraz
10-19 London, England - Roundhouse
10-20 Glasgow, Scotland - O2 ABC
10-21 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street
10-23 Manchester, England - Albert Hall
10-24 Bexhill, England - De La Warr
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