Hiding behind the character alias of this lonesome giant is Swede Kristian Matsson, whose folklorish lyrics weave natural imagery with mystical reveries. His latest album "Shallow Graves" traverses the Earth, through blizzards and across desert sands, and is punctuated by encounters with spies hiding in chimneys and angels suffering "with wings of pain." Yet through this fantastical imagery, the Tallest Man on Earth manages to communicate the ultimately mundane human emotions that connect us all - like the fear of being discovered as ordinary by a lover in "The Gardener". Of course, you can't listen to Matsson raw and raspy voice or his jaunty fingerpicking and rhythmic strumming without recognizing the dominating influence of the greatest of the great - Bob Dylan. But Matsson manages to channel the folk master without the ennui of mimicry that others have fallen victim to. It makes sense - no one but the Tallest Man on Earth could fill shoes that big.
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