The Tallest Man on Earth: The Wild Hunt

Label: Dead Oceans

To be honest, the voice will be the dividing line. If Kristian Matsson doesn’t set your teeth on edge with his nasal, Dylanesque vocals, then you might just love The Tallest Man on Earth (who, our intelligence says, stands under six feet tall). So, Mattson’s a liar, but also an ace songwriter, actually landing somewhere between Dylan and maybe John Darnielle (without the hyperliterate lyrics though), singing earnest songs about life and love in a nervy, high register that also makes us think of Devendra Banhart in the way he ends a line. Despite the above stylistic similarities, you won’t feel like Matsson is a pastiche artist; he’s so engaging, with his firm acoustic strums and impossible to ignore vocals, as to be sui generis. (Vinyl includes free digital download.) (M.L. Thrope)