Sunday 1 May 2011

The Evening's Anthem: The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt

Okay, so i haven't blogged in a while. Apologies. I am however, going to take all the blame away from me and place it purely down to the weather. In what is perhaps the most British of excuses, this beautiful Indian summer we are currently experiencing has been fully to blame. Barbeque's, picnics, beer and the seaside have also had a role to play, but they are all secondary figures to that giant ball of Hydrogen in the sky. As this weather is now drawing to an end, my commitment to my blog will be back on the rise.

Back to the evening's anthem feature. I thought I would introduce you to a song which I've been listening to a lot recently, 'The Wild Hunt' by The Tallest Man On Earth.

The Tallest Man On Earth, incase you were wondering, is not 'the tallest man on earth'. As far as my google searching has indicated he is in fact, a man of a fairly reasonable height (unless he's having custom made giant guitars built for him). 

Regardless of his height, he does write some superb music. Drawing comparisons, (along with every other white male to wield a guitar) to Bob Dylan -  his voice does certainly have a certain nasal quality, similar to that of early Dylan. This track, 'The Wild Hunt', come from the fantastic folk album of the same name. For those of you who like your folk intricately written with thought provoking lyrics, it's well worth a listen.

Like the majority of his songs, this one is lyrically very interesting and open to much analysis. It draws upon the ancient folk myth of - 'The Wild Hunt'. According to the legend, at prominent times in history a host of spirits and phantoms would appear to hunt down sinners and the unclean. Seeing the Wild Hunt was thought to presage some catastrophe such as war or plague, or at best the death of the one who witnessed it. Kristian Matsson aka The Tallest Man On Earth, has clearly done someone wrong romantically. This song sees Kristian at that point of bitter self loathing, where he doesn't feel like he deserves to be loved ('I left his heart to the wild hunt a-coming'). He sings with heart-breaking effect how he 'plans to be forgotten when he's gone' - well if he keeps writing beautiful, thoughtful music like this, I would say the chances are slim.

'I left my heart to the wild hunt a-comin'
I live until the call'


No comments:

Post a Comment