When I first heard "Shallow grave", a part of me was glad that many of my friends either don't much care for Bob Dylan or were more into the electronica-tinged indie-rock/pop that was (and still is) coming out -- without trying to keep The Tallest Man on Earth my little secret, I was one of the few people I knew who really enjoyed Kristian Matsson's music. Visiting Stockholm the summer after "Shallow grave" was released, Matsson played an outdoor show at Debaser. Refusing to pay the entrance fee, my friends and I sat on the stairs nearby. Those that didn't know of his music beforehand were converted, those of us who liked the self-titled EP and "Shallow grave" were awestruck. A few years later, Pitchfork and others have called Matsson's sophomore effort "The wild hunt" one of the best records of 2010, and, despite my mixed feelings regarding certain popular music sites, good on them: It's nice to see some light shone on a talent like The Tallest Man on Earth and, despite not making my Top 10 (a rather distressing oversight, to be honest), "The wild hunt" truly deserves to be recognized as one of the finest efforts of the year.
"Sometimes the blues is just a passing bird" is a fitting addition to Matsson's catalogue. Taking advantage of the EP format, the songs don't necessarily feel as strongly connected as the tracklists of "Shallow grave" and "The wild hunt", but this does little harm to the record's content. There are a few small departures from the usual 'a man and his acoustic guitar'-approach of previous recordings: the clean electric guitar and subtle overdubbing on "The dreamer" are wonderful, as is the piano in "Like the wheel". The lyrics are once again so good that it begs the question why someone whose first language is Swedish can write circles around most lyricists whose mother tongue is English -- "And I said, 'Oh my Lord, why am I not strong like the branch that keeps hangmen hanging on?'" Hopefully Matsson's creative output in 2011 will mirror that of 2010 -- I can't think of too many artists I would prefer new material from than The Tallest Man on Earth. - Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Every moment has me falling further and further behind. The list of music that deserves coverage grows longer by the day and I can barely keep up, to say nothing of everything else I've got going on. One such title I've been meaning to talk up for awhile now is Mack Johansson's solo debut "New Sweden", so here's a great uneasy ballad from said disc. Perhaps a few of you will recognize Mack as the frontman for the very excellent Hyacinth House, one of my absolute favorite dark country acts and a band I've done my best to talk up for multiple years now, so no surprise that I find myself mentioning his work yet again. However, Mack's work under his own name is a slightly different beast: similar twang, but definitely far less dark/more overtly pop. Not necessarily a bad thing when done right, but a sidestep that took me a bit off-guard. So I'm approaching this cautiously, optimistic that it'll win me over eventually, much in the same way that Hyacinth House's last record "Black crows' country" took time to grow on. For now I'm favoring the slower, more gentle tunes such as this; we'll wait on the rest.
EPs are often mixed blessings: they can be all over the map with regards to quality, creative direction, and sound, and even the best EPs run the risk of getting overplayed, especially if the release precedes another recording by more than a few months. That said, Convoj's self-titled EP and Cut City's "Narcissus can wait" demonstrate that EPs, when handled correctly, can stand on their own and hold their ground, and to that list I add Another Nation's National Anthem's "Conscious castle". A week or so ago, I may not have made that claim, but ANNA grow on you and the contemplative periods in a few of the songs have since ceased feeling somewhat indulgent and now feel properly settled into the compositions. "Conscious castle" unfolds in a very pleasant way, each listening revealing a layer I missed on a previous occasion. Its sound reminds me at times of The Appleseed Cast (though this claim may hold more weight in nostalgia than in fact) and Tiger Lou (especially those opening notes of "Hold, stranger (of the north)"), though ultimately escapes pigeonholing through the strength of the songwriting. Seeing what ANNA can do with five tracks and 21 minutes, I'm very interested in this band's future. - Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
I haven't mentioned in awhile, mostly due to negligence, but also because their releases for the latter half of 2010 mostly left me underwhelmed. I expect them to provide me with a regular dose of the best classic hard rock Sweden has to offer, they gave me a mixed bag of stuff that failed to grab me. There are exceptions though, there always are: Mangrove's 2nd album "A distant dream of tomorrow" is a solid rocker, just like their last one. They aren't showing much progression between albums, but I don't mind at all -- I can always hang with recycled Black Sabbath riffage when done right, especially when they nail the catchy/pop aspect of that band so many other worshippers fail to realize. Great dual-overdub solo section at the end too, even better that it leads into a killer final version of the main hook.
Wait, stop the presses! I've just received a last-minute arrival for my best-of 2010 list! Okay, so maybe that's a bit hyperbolic of me, not to mention premature since I really did just get their CD over the weekend, but I really do love love love the sound of Finnish crooner Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha. A bit of tango, a bit of Balkan folk and a crooning frontman who reminds me a bit of a young Rodney Dangerfield with the way he lets his hair and tie lay slightly askew; that adds up to something really great in my book. This is music for parties, dancing and drinking, as much as it is also fit for grand, weepy ballads, though we shall stick with the former for the time being. I am only left to wonder: is this the tip of the iceberg? Is there more contemporary Finnish tango I should be listening to? What are the other crucial records of the genre I should have?
01. Kurt Nilsen - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
02. Sissel - ...til deg...
03. Madrugada - The best Of Madrugada
04. Jan Werner - One more time - The Very best Of
05. Bjørn Eidsvåg - Rundt neste sving
06. Silje Nergaard - If I Could Wrap Up a Kiss
07. Vamp - I Full Symfoni 2
08. Madcon - Contraband
09. Odd Nordstoga - November
10. Helene Bøksle - Det Hev Ei Rose Sprungen
11. Bugge Wesseltoft - It's Snowing On My Piano
12. Hans Rotmo - Vårres Jul 2
13. Malin & Celine - Julekonserten
14. Koret på Botsen & Henning Kvitnes - Bortkomne Julestjerner
15. Henning Kvitnes - For Sånne Som Oss
16. Silje Hrafa - Frelsesarmeens Juleplate 2010
17. Sissel & Odd - Strålande Jul
18. Kari Bremnes - Fantastisk Allerede
19. Narum - Ælt som var søkk borte
20. Kråkesølv - Bomtur til Jorda
01. Malena Ernman - Santa Lucia - En klassisk Jul
02. Sarah Dawn Finer - Winterland
03. Sanna Shirley Sonja - Vår Jul
04. Helen Sjöholm - Euforia: Helen Sjöholm sjunger Billy Joel
05. Christer Sjögren - En stjärna lyser i natt
06. The Playtones - Rock'n'roll Christmas party
07. Robyn - Body talk
08. Bo Kaspers Orkester - New Orleans
09. Nisse Hellberg - Tufft jobb - Nisse Hellbergs bästa 1994-2010
10. Peter Mattei - Jul med Peter Mattei
11. Orup - Född i November
12. Amy Diamond - Greatest hits
13. Håkan Hellström - 2 steg från paradise
14. Tove Styrke - Tove Styrke
15. Prästerna - Där du är
16. Caroline Af Ugglas - Vad var det jag sa
17. The Refreshments - Christmas wishes - The best of rock'n'roll X-mas
18. Flamingokvintetten - Tack & förlåt
19. E.M.D. - Rewind
20. Jill Johnson - The well-known and some other favourite stories
It appears that Sverige Topplistan has made their already hard-to-navigate site even worse, so I'd say it's pretty doubtful that I'll continue posting charts next year. Not that they matter much anyway.
The Tallest Man on Earth
Another Nation's National Anthem
