The Tallest Man on Earth
The Tallest Man on Earth
Gravitation
So many singer/songwriters get tagged with the “Dylan-esque” label that the phrase has pretty much lost all its meaning. It’s an unfortunate situation for Sweden’s The Tallest Man on Earth, because if any artist has embodied Bob Dylan in both aesthetic and practice in the last 30 years, it’s him. With nothing more than an acoustic guitar, a twangy voice and surrealist, nature-centric lyrics, The Tallest Man sounds like he should have been borne of The Great Depression rather than early-aught Scandinavia. With five tracks and barely breaking the fifteen minute mark, this EP might act as a primer, but it begs to be left on repeat for hours on end. The quality and flow of the songs is impossibly good. The magnificent “Over the Hills” transcends Dylan allusions and actually embodies the folk legend for split seconds in chord progressions and vocal phrasing. It’s like hearing a ghost of someone who hasn’t passed on yet, making it all the more fascinating and compelling. Similarly, “Into the Stream” with its flurry of finger-picking feels like it was culled straight from the latter half of Bringing it All Back Home. It may be January when this review posts, but I can safely say The Tallest Man on Earth already has one of the best releases of 2007, hands down. Buy it, bask in it and thank me later.
Gravitation Records: http://www.gravitation.nu
