The self-proclaimed Tallest Man on Earth, Kristian Matsson returns with his fifth album I Love You. Its A Fever Dream out from AWAL in physical form 28th June.
Born in Sweden, Mattson gained critical acclaim in 2008 with the release of Shallow Grave. Three more albums followed. He released an EP in 2018 When The Bird Sees Solid Ground culminating in the release of this album.
Matsson is a one-man production force, setting himself deadlines to inject creativity and inspiration through the personal process of producing original music.
Matsson is a man of great subtlety and this understating modesty is infused within the works; his personality comes to the fore throughout by way of expressing his thoughts. There is a pacing to the mood of this album, the second half of the title specifically mentions a momentary loss of reality, defences are down and love can seep in.
The album sets the tone with the opener 'Hotel Bar' a man stating 'things will be fine' as guitar strings evoke a period of fondness or unrequited moments, this continues with track two 'The Running Styles of New York' where Matsson's ability to communicate a place and mood reminds me of Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie; who regularly writes on the road evoking a moment of his life personally also.
The key track on the album is track four - 'My Dear' - a beautiful and equally haunting track that is borders on jaunty and carefree, yet there are echoes of many a bygone era where romance was king in songwriting and love could be worn proudly on a sleeve a la Neil Young or Dylan's emotional mid-1970s stretch of albums from Planet Waves to Blood on the Tracks.
All in all, this is a sumptuous album of mood, of melancholy but most importantly a love album for the ages.
I Love You. It's A Fever Dream is out now on all platforms but is out in physical form here.
The Tallest Man on Earth will be playing his biggest British shows to date in November later this year
My thanks to OneBeatPR for the review opportunity.
