The Tallest Man on Earth — aka Swedish musician Kristian Matsson — will release his latest record, Henry St., on April 14 via ANTI-. This is his first new album in four years and comes on the heels of him leaving New York in 2020 to grow vegetables on his home farm in Sweden. During this period, inspiration didn’t come easily, with themes of darkness and solitude working their way into whatever he laid his hands on. But he began touring again toward the end of 2021 and found himself in a time of feverish and plentiful writing, laying down the foundation of what would become Henry St.
“Henry St. is the most playful, most me album yet, because it covers so many of the different noises in my head,” says Matsson. “When you overthink things, you get further away from your original ideas. And God knows I overthink things when I’m by myself.“
We’re introduced to the record through “Every Little Heart”, a song that pits Matsson’s gorgeous voice against a quick tempered drumbeat, guitars sparkling in the forefront and melodies pouring like silver through your speakers. His voice still recalls the timbre of a young Bob Dylan, but the force imparted here is wholly his own, a deep and bottomless reservoir of emotion that bathes your heart in its desperate beauty.
“…I still have little demons inside of me,” Matsson reveals. “I wrote some key changes in the song that came natural to me, but I worried they might sound unnatural to others. When [drummer] TJ Maiani heard it, he straightaway went into this drumbeat that shocked me a little at first, but came completely natural to him. It fit the song perfectly.“
The song finds its visual partner in a clip from director Jeroen Dankers, who explains that the video “portrays a conflict you can have with your inner child, which you sometimes still have inside you and you want to let go, but that isn’t always easy.” It is the first of a purported trilogy of video accompaniments for the album.
Watch the video and check out some of his upcoming tour dates below.
The Tallest Man on Earth’s new album, Henry St., is due April 14 via ANTI- (pre-order). Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Upcoming tour dates:
March 22 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery Masonic Lodge
March 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery Masonic Lodge
March 25 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom *
March 26 – Ft. Collins, CO @ Washington’s
March 29 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
March 30 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
April 1 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s
April 3 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
April 4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
April 12 – Copenhagen, DK @ Amager Bio
April 13 – Aarhus, DK @ Voxhall
April 16 – Glasgow, UK @ QMU
April 17 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
April 18 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Cathedral
April 19 – Leeds, UK @ The Leeds Irish Centre
April 21 – London, UK @ O2 Forum
April 22 – Bristol, UK @ Trinity – SOLD OUT
April 24 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
April 25 – Antwerp, BE @ De Roma
April 26 – Paris, FR @ La Cigale
April 27 – Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks
April 29 – Milan, IT @ Fabrique
April 30 – Munich, DE @ Freiheitshalle
May 1 – Berlin, DE @ Metropol
May 2 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefahlrlich
May 3 – Malmo, SE @ Plan B – SOLD OUT
May 5 – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene
May 6 – Stockholm, SE @ Cirkus – SOLD OUT
May 7 – Stockholm, SE @ Cirkus
May 8 – Goteborg, SE @ Pustervik – SOLD OUT
May 9 – Goteborg, SE @ Pustervik – SOLD OUT
* = with Elephant Revival
