The Tallest Man on Earth – INDIE ROCK CAFE

Best New Releases, Week of June 12th – Jaill, The Tallest Man on Earth, These United States, Metric, Stepdad, Guided By Voices

Posted on 06/14/201201/09/2020 by Max Hammer

This is the last Best New Releases for the spring of 2012, and if you’ve been following along over the weeks, then you know there have been some spectacular new albums, EPs and singles released so far. Just in case you missed any of them – they’re all in one place, containing hundreds of free and legal MP3s, or you can just stream them for days while you do other things.

Kicking off this week’s Best New Releases is the fresh single from Jaill, “Perfect Ten,” off of the band’s latest album, Traps, which just so happens to be our Album of the Week, even though the album cover doesn’t cut it for us (check it out by clicking on the album link). Sub Pop Records signed the Milwaukee psych pop/garage rock trio in 2006 and we’re sure glad they did.

Sub Pop has an uncanny ability to pick out talented and unique artists and sign them; they’re also known for granting their artists tons of creative freedom, and it reflects in the work their line-up has produced for over two decades now. Too bad the “big” labels don’t do more of that, and lose the formulated crap, which by now almost everyone can identify in the first 20 seconds of a song (ugh).

Jaill was a band to watch for IRC the first time we spun their debut album, That’s How We Burn, upon it’s release in 2009. It was full of surf punk glory, and just one of dozens upon dozens of amazing debuts that year. The band has returned with a new single that signals a new sonic direction for the band. If you want to hear more, check out our Jaill archives, and you can also stream Traps via AOL/Spinner for the next four or five days. Also, look out for Vol. II of this week’s Best New Releases where there will be double shots from bands in this post, including Jaill.

“Perfect Ten” – Jaill from Traps on Sub Pop

Note: Vol. II of this week’s BNR’s will include another track from Jaill.

The Tallest Man on Earth, the alias of 29-year-old Swedish singer/songwriter Kristian Matsson, quickly made a name for himself within the indie folk music genre in the past five years by way of his profound nasal-prone vocals, which have earned Matsson endless comparisons to the legendary Bob Dylan, while simultaneously maintaining his own unique identity. Too bad though that the album cover, like Jaill’s new record, sucks. Look out for an expose we’re working on about modern album art, and why it matters in the digital age.

Also, check out new singles from These United States, Metric, Jonathan Boulet, Stepdad, Capitol 6, Fallon Crush, Giant Giant Sand, Stepdad and others. There are some sah-wheet singles out this week. Volume Two coming up next.

“1904” – The Tallest Man on Earth from There’s No Leaving Now on Dead Oceans

“Born Young” – These United States from These United States on United Interests

“Youth Without Youth” – Metric from Synthetica on Metric Music International
via MusicisArt.ws

“Must Land Running” – Stepdad from Wildlife Pop on Black Bell Records

“You’re An Animal” – Jonathan Boulet from We Keep The Beat, Found The Sound, See The Need, Start The Heart on Modular

“Cold Ride” – Capitol 6 from Pretty Lost on Light Organ Records
via Blahblahblahscience.com

“Class Clown Spots a UFO” – Guided By Voices from Class Clown Spots a UFO on Guided By Voices, Inc.

“Honey Honey” – Fallon Cush from April (self-released)

“Detained” – Giant Giant Sand from Tucson on Fire Records

“Livin’ Free” – The Young from Dub Egg on Matador

Have any comments or opinions on any of the singles, albums and artists in this post? Go ahead and write something into the Comments box below (no sign-up required; email is kept private) and not only will your comment be potentially seen by tens of thousands of people, we also pick some of our favorite comments to enter into a drawing for free albums and sometimes concert tickets and merchandise.

The Sunday 25 Mix, Vol. III: The Tallest Man on Earth, Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse, Caribou, Peter Gabriel, Elvis, Bright Eyes

Posted on 12/05/201007/22/2021 by Max Hammer

Kristian Matsson is The Tallest Man on Earth (actually, he's 5'11)

The profile artist for this third installment of The Sunday 25 Mix series made a huge splash in 2008 with his debut album, Shallow Graves. He is Kristian Matsson, a singer and songwriter from Dalarna, Sweden, better known to many people as The Tallest Man on Earth, Matsson’s self-adopted moniker.

His wonderfully crafted acoustic folk songs, poetic lyrics and high-pitch, nasaly voice have led him to be compared to the one-and-only Bob Dylan. Admittedly, there’s probably not a Dylan fan in the world who can honestly say that Matsson’s voice doesn’t sound like Dylan. For some people Matsson’s likeness to Dylan may be a barrier, but the vast majority of TTMOE admirers appreciate the musician, because he’s incredibly talented, and his music, because his songs are so damn good, not because he is so perfectly Dylanesque.

During the past two years, The Tallest Man on Earth has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe with Bon Iver and John Vanderslice, and recently as a headline artist, which is just another indication of Matsson’s fairly rapid ascent to fame. In between tours, Matsson had time to record another album’s worth of songs, which ended up on his recent 2010 release, The Wild Hunt. Once again, the critics, bloggers and fans have given his work a big thumbs up.

As with the first couple of Sunday 25 Mixes (S-25), you’ll also find songs we love from all kinds of genres, dating all the way back to mid-1950s. You’ll probably also want to see S-25 Vol. One and S-25 Vol. Two. Coming Up S-25 mixtapes featuring The Strokes and another one that will highlight the top 25 songs from the popular mixtape series – Best Indie and Alternative Rock Christmas Songs, containing over 200 indie and alternative songs.

“King of Spain” – The Tallest Man on Earth from The Wild Hunt (2010)

“For Ash” – Marnie Stern from Marnie Stern (2010)

“Hurricane” – Neil Young from Decade (2005)

Film director David Lynch, Danger Mouse & Mark Linkous (R.I.P.)

“Little Girl” – Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse with Julian Casablancas from Dark Night of the Soul (Exclusive Amazon edition – only $5.99)

“Helicopter” – Deerhunter from Halcyon Digest (2010)

“Solsbury Hill” – Peter Gabriel from Peter Gabriel: Car 1:Remastered (2010; originally 1977)

“Pistol Dreams” – The Tallest Man on Earth from Shallow Grave (2008)

“Is She Really Going Out With Him”? – Joe Jackson from Steppin’ Out (1990)

“Leave House” – Caribou from Swim (2010)

“Funeral Song” – Minks from Funeral Song 7″ single (2010)

“The Thoughts of Mary Jane” – Nick Drake from Five Leaves Left (1969)

“Suspicous Minds” – Elvis Presley from Suspicious Minds (1970)

“Monsieur Maire de Niafunke” – Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate from In The Heart of the Moon (1998)

” The Gardner” – The Tallest Man on Earth from Shallow Grave (2008)

“It’s Alright” – Opus Orange from Opus Orange EP (2010)

“Little Fat Baby” – Sparklehorse from It’s a Wonderful Life (2001)

“Mother of God” – Close Lobsters from Foxheads Stalk This Land (1987)

“No You Girls” – Franz Ferdinand from Tonight (2009)

“Heaven’s On Fire” – The Radio Dept. from Clinging To A Scheme (2010)

“Hand In Glove” – The Smiths from Louder Than Bombs (1987)

“Treat Me Like Your Mother” – The Dead Weather from Horehound (2009)

“So Long, Mom, I’m Off to Drop the Bomb” – Brad P from s/t debut (2009)

“No One Would Riot for Less” – Bright Eyes from Lifted or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002)

“The Man Who Sold The World” – David Bowie from The Man Who Sold The World (1970)

“Troubles Will Be Gone” – The Tallest Man On Earth from The Wild Hunt (2010)

More S-25 Mixtapes*

The Sunday 25 Mix, Vol. I – Wiretree, Cheap Trick, Billy Idol, Wilco, David Bowie, The Kinks, Neutral Milk Hotel, Brian Eno, Talking Heads

The Sunday-25 Mix, Vol. II: Oberhofer, Belle & Sebastian, The Beatles, Dexy Midnight Runners, Yeasayer, New Order, Aerosmith

Some of you might have seen our thread about the difference between a mixtape and a playlist. Not surprisingly, no two theories were the same. To us, a mixtape is a collection of favorite or recommended music that someone produces, usually to share with others, and meant to be listened to uninterrupted from the first song to the last; for example, “Summer 2010 Mixtape”. Playlists, on the other hand, have a particular theme, organization or subject matter that applies to all of the songs in that playlist; for example, “Songs About Summer Playlist”.

Please tell us your explanation of the difference between a mixtape and a playlist.

5 Anticipated Albums for Autumn: Sufjan Stevens, Belle & Sebastian, The Tallest Man on Earth, Avey Tare and A Sunny Day in Glasgow

Posted on 10/09/201012/18/2019 by Max Hammer

It’s already time to look forward to autumn music releases, even though we’re still getting acquainted with the flood of awesome new releases that have dropped in the past couple of months. Sure, many of them have been featured in the weekly Best New Releases, and via other regular mixes like In Dee Mail and Recent Releases We Almost Missed, but there are still others, especially from bands most people have never heard of, that we’re still listening to – determining if they should make the ‘final cut’. Those that do will be published over the coming weeks.

One of the most talked about upcoming releases is Sufjan Stevens‘ The Age of Adz, which is streaming free on NPR until it’s release date, October 12th. Fans of Sufjan will soon discover yet another side to the prolific musician – his tweaked-out, electro-experimental pop side. We’ll have more to say about Adz next Tuesday.

“Too Much” – Sufjan Stevens from The Age of Adz – Oct. 12th

Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love

You can bet that a lot of Belle and Sebastian fans will be happy Tuesday to finally get their hands on the duo’s first album in four years, Write About Love. The Scottish band, led by singer-songwriter Stuart Murdoch, has built a cult-like following over the years, gaining more fans after two B&S songs were featured in the hit 2007 indie film, Juno. Those songs came from the band’s most successful LP in their 15-year career, 2006’s The Life Pursuit. That album was produced by Tony Hoffer, who guided the band’s music towards a more progressive pop sound. And, just in case you don’t know about Murdoch’s innovative film project, check it out at his God Help The Girl website.

“Write About Love” – Belle & Sebastian from Write About Love – Oct. 12th

For the memories: “There’s Too Much Love” – Belle & Sebastian from Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant (2000)

The Tallest Man on Earth – Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird

On November 9th, Swedish musician Kristian Matsson, better known by his moniker, The Tallest Man on Earth, will officially release his second EP, Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird. Matsson has often been compared to one of our favorite musicians ever – Bob Dylan. Whether by design or coincidence – or a dash of both – Matsson’s raw, nasal voice is strikingly similar to Dylan’s. Since his brilliant 2008 debut LP, Shallow Grave, and this past April’s follow-up, The Wild Hunt, it’s been a wild ride for The Tallest Man on Earth. He’s enormously popular in Europe, and increasingly so in the U.S. and Canada. We love TTMOE, and he’s getting stronger, but not taller, with each release. By the way, Matsson is 5 feet, 7 inches tall.

“Like The Wheel” – The Tallest Man on Earth from Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird – Nov. 9th

Avey Tare (Animal Collective) – Down There

The members of Animal Collective have been keeping busy this summer with solo recordings, releases and tours. Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) was on tour on the heels of his latest release, Tomboy, and now, Avey Tare, has released a new track from his upcoming LP, Down There, set to drop Oct. 26th on Paw Tracks. The new Tare single, “Lucky 1”, sounds, surprisingly, like a new AC song, which you can probably guess is a good, and maybe no-so-good, thing for him. However, until we’ve heard the entire LP, it’s hard to pass judgment. Hard-core AC fans will buy just about anything anyone from the band puts out. Avey also followed the release of that track – which has been trending at No. 1 on the Hype Machine over the past few days – with this silly video for “Lucky 1”.

“Lucky 1” – Avey Tare from Down There – Oct. 26th

A Sunny Day in Glasgow – Autumn Again

The next release we are looking forward to is not likely one that many other bloggers or indie fans have marked down as an anticipated fall release. And yet the upcoming new album, Autumn Again, from Philadelphia/Sydney’s celebrated indie dream pop band, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, not only because we freaking loved their previous releases over the past two years, but also because it will be a free download (freeload) starting Oct. 19th, the official release date of the LP. The band will sell 500 vinyl copies via Carrot Top Distribution.

“Drink Drank Drunk” – A Sunny Day in Glasgow from Autumn, Again – Oct. 19th

And then there’s this: Current tourmates Active Child and School of Seven Bells have remixed each other’s tracks on a limited edition 7” project. This collaboration will be available from Lefse Records on mixed color vinyl October 26. Listen to Active Child’s remix of “Heart is Strange” here: