The Tallest Man On Earth - Dark Bird Is Home (Album Review)
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Written by Matt Williams
‘Dark Bird Is Home’ is an album on which individual pain is rendered universal. In documenting his divorce, Kristian Mattson has shone a light on a difficult time in the spirit of communication and shared experience.
“I wrote these songs while there were wars going on, and horrible things that are very real,” he recently told Spin’s Caitlin Gallagher. “But this is something that so many people have to go through, so I let myself do this.”
The result is a surprisingly warm record and one that furthers Mattson’s full-band dabbling. The bright, lush arrangements of Darkness Of The Dream and Sagres support soul-searching and moments of genuine doubt.
“And this sadness, I suppose, is going to hold me to the ground,” he sings on the latter. “Where I’m forced to find the still in a place where you won’t be around.”
While there are notable outside contributions - Bon Iver’s Mike Noyce is all over the record’s mellifluous harmonies - ‘Dark Bird Is Home’ remains a personal affair. It’s Mattson behind the clarinet on Timothy, while he also enjoys spells at the kit.
There is a sense that he isn’t abandoning the bare-bones style of old, rather embracing a different sort of communication. Slow Dance, a nominally simple song served with a beaming side of horns, is emblematic of a shifting palette.
In fact, when he does retreat to his acoustic guitar - on Little Nowhere Towns or Beginners, for example - the album loses some of its lustre. Mattson inhabits the more expansive spaces with such grace that it’s tempting to wish that he’d spend all of his time there. Still, for its inconsistencies, this is a fine album, one crafted from and reflective of an imperfect situation.
The Tallest Man On Earth Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue June 23 2015 - LONDON KOKO
Mon October 19 2015 - LONDON Roundhouse
Tue October 20 2015 - GLASGOW O2 ABC Glasgow
Wed October 21 2015 - DUBLIN Vicar Street
Fri October 23 2015 - MANCHESTER Albert Hall
Sat October 24 2015 - BEXHILL ON SEA De La Warr Pavilion
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