#17 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

December 15, 2015 by Royal Stuart

I like Sweden. Like Iceland, if an album from a Swedish artist lands in my lap, I’ll most likely enjoy it. Amason is the second Swedish band on this year’s countdown. Another Swedish favorite of mine, Dungen, also came out with a new album this year, and I didn’t hear it until I’d already started the countdown, unfortunately too late to get it into the countdown.

All three of these Swedish bands mentioned above have connections beyond their country of origin. Amanda Bergman (also known as Idiot Wind), lead singer of Amason, used to be married to Kristian Matsson (also known as The Tallest Man on Earth, and whose divorce from Bergman creatively fueled his album Dark Bird is Home, #26 on this year’s countdown). Gustav Ejstes, guitarist in Amason, is a founding member of Dungen. Amason could be called a “Swedish super group” in the same sense that Broken Social Scene is a “Canadian super group.” I’m a big fan of super groups. Pooling talent always seems to net great music.

Amason is no different. I first featured them on the Bacon Review back in February, when they were suggested to me by a Swedish friend of mine. Since then I’ve listened to the album many, many times. It falls into the psychedelic-indie-rock mold, with lots of echo-chamber vocals and time signature changes. If you’ve liked Dungen or other prog- / psych-rock acts in the past, you’ll have a lot to like in Sky City.

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18. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World by The Decemberists
19. Untethered Moon by Built to Spill
20. Viet Cong by Viet Cong
21. The Magic Whip by Blur
22. Savage Hills Ballroom by Youth Lagoon
23. Not Real by Stealing Sheep
24. Beat the Champ by The Mountain Goats
25. Gliss Riffer by Dan Deacon
26. Dark Bird is Home by The Tallest Man on Earth
27. Gunnera by Pfarmers
28. Swimmer to a Liquid Armchair by Ricked Wickey
29. To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
30. Live in Seattle by Moufang / Czamanski
31. High by Royal Headache

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#26 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

December 06, 2015 by Royal Stuart

Dark Bird Is Home by the Tallest Man on Earth

The man at #26 is the first artist on this year’s Top 31 to have been here before. Quite a few bands have been on the countdown twice, but very few artists have made the Top 31 three times. Dalarna, Sweden native Kristian Matsson, otherwise known as The Tallest Man on Earth, has done exactly that. The Wild Hunt was #25 in 2010, and There’s No Leaving Now came in at #18 in 2012.

Dark Bird is Home, his fourth album (and third for the great record label Dead Oceans), is a departure for him, in that he didn’t do it all himself. In the past, Matsson has played all the instruments and engineered his own recorded work. But this time around he brought in a full band to back him up, and an engineer to properly record them all. In this KEXP performance earlier this year, Matsson called this album “louder” but I think “fuller” is a more apt description. There’s just more of everything that I love about the Tallest Man on Earth.

None of Matsson’s albums have been uplifting affairs, but this album in particular is quite rough, once you start listening to the lyrics. This was written at a time when Matsson was divorcing from his wife, singer-songwriter Amanda Bergman, also known as Idiot Wind. I’m not the type of person to concentrate on lyrics, so the fact that this album is about such a sad topic didn’t register with me until I read about it earlier this week. The music itself is quite uplifting, and that’s what I loved about it. Now knowing the lyrics are so deeply personal, I love it even more. What do you think?

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27. Gunnera by Pfarmers
28. Swimmer to a Liquid Armchair by Ricked Wickey
29. To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
30. Live in Seattle by Moufang / Czamanski
31. High by Royal Headache

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

December 14, 2012 by Royal Stuart

#18 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth

Kristian Matsson, from Sweden, sounds like he grew up in Everytown, USA. He doesn’t have a lick of accent from his native country. Billing himself as The Tallest Man On Earth, he produces some of the most spare, moving folk music you’ll ever hear.

The Tallest Man On Earth appeared on the 2010 Bacon Calendar. Looking back, I unfairly ranked The Wild Hunt at #25 that year. I wonder if I’ll regret putting his new album, the every-bit-as-good There’s No Leaving Now, here at #18.

If you have ever liked any Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie songs, you will like The Tallest Man On Earth. Guaranteed. If you despise those artists, you can equally count on despising this album, too. Just a man, his guitar, and little bit of backing instrumentation, raw and unplugged.

He even has what I consider to be a trademark of Jeff Mangum on this album: at the end of the last song, the deeply moving “On Every Page,” after the music has ended, you hear Matsson stand up from what sounds like an old creaky whicker chair. It’s a nice touch, and I hope it truly is a nod to the best album of all time. Unfortunately there were no music videos made for the new album (from what I can tell), so the video above is instead a live performance from the KEXP studios. One of the many reasons I donate regularly to my favorite radio station.

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19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells