![\"The](\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tallest_man-dark_bird.jpg\")
<\/a>It\u2019s possible to pinpoint the moment when Kristian Matsson, the man who records under the alias of The Tallest Man on Earth, started to expand his musical outlook. It was on The Wild Hunt\u2019s<\/i> last track, \u201cKids on the Run,\u201d a song that\u2019s not so much conspicuous for its melody or chord phrasing, but for the mere introduction of piano into the Matsson soundscape. From that point onward, this wandering minstrel of sorts (with numerous Bob Dylan comparisons to boot) was looking past his acoustic guitar to make music: from his use of electric guitar on \u201cThe Dreamer\u201d later that year to the subtle ambiance and piano playing on 2012\u2019s There\u2019s No Leaving Now<\/i>. Three years later, Dark Bird Is Home<\/i> (Dead Oceans) boasts string arrangements, percussion, woodwinds, and a full-band performing in unison.<\/p>\nDark Bird<\/i> showcases the same sort of songwriting we\u2019ve always heard from Matsson and his skill of not trying too hard to find a melody. Thematically, he continues to balance a sense of yearning with an omnipresent easy-going attitude; \u201cBeginners\u201d would be stylistically indistinguishable from anything on Shallow Grave<\/i> if it wasn\u2019t for its crisper production and \u201cSingers\u201d approximates The Wild Hunt\u2019s<\/i> \u201cThousand Ways,\u201d sans a woodwinds fadeout. Elsewhere, though, Matsson embellishes Dark Bird<\/i> to the point that it\u2019s a new experience, and not a wholly positive one. There are a few moments where the approach works well enough, as on \u201cFields of Our Home\u201d and lead single \u201cSagres,\u201d but the album is by-and-large a jumbled mess. The chorus of voices on the refrains of \u201cDarkness of the Dream\u201d and \u201cSeventeen\u201d seems more befitting of an adult contemporary record, and the questionable use of clarinet on \u201cTimothy\u201d doesn\u2019t help matters. \u201cLittle Nowhere Towns\u201d is a peculiar brand of not-quite-Elton-John piano ballad that feels on the verge of something great melodically, but only plateaus. The record seems to be an attempt to do something \u201cmature,\u201d but it never coalesces. Dark Bird<\/i> isn\u2019t made up of songs that are uninspired or filler\u2014in fact, it\u2019s just the opposite. It suffers for its excess and for lacking the grace of its predecessors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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