The Tallest Man On Earth – project of Swedish musician Kristian Matsson – has announced Henry St., his first new album in four years, out 14th April via ANTI-. Alongside the announcement, Matsson has unveiled its lead single/video, “Every Little Heart”.
In 2020, Matsson left New York City and returned to his farm in Sweden where he drowned out his thoughts by manically growing vegetables in his garden. Imaginative writing did not come easily to Matsson during this time of collective forced solitude, and when it did, he found himself commenting on the darkness. It was only near the end of 2021, as he began to tour again, that the inspiration returned. “When I’m in motion, I can focus on my instinct, have my daydreams again. When I was finally able to tour again, I started writing like a madman.” He eventually had a collection of songs, revealing what would become Henry St, an album that sees Matsson exploring his own stubborn optimism and “how to be a person in this world.”
Following 2015’s Dark Bird Is A Home and the self-released I Love You, It’s a Fever Dream in 2019, The Tallest Man On Earth’s sixth album, Henry St., notably marks the first time Matsson recorded an album in a band setting. “My entire career I’ve been a DIY person, mostly fuelled by the feeling that I didn’t know what I was doing, so I’d just do everything myself.” But now, longing for the energy that’s only released when creating together with others, Matsson invited his friends to come and play.
Sylvan Esso’s Nick Sanborn produced the album, which includes contributions from Ryan Gustafson (guitar, lap steel, ukulele), TJ Maiani (drums), CJ Camerieri of Bon Iver (trumpet, French horn), Phil Cook (piano, organ), Rob Moose of Bon Iver, yMusic (strings) and Adam Schatz (saxophone), all supporting and surrounding Matsson on vocals and guitars. “They opened everything up and understood what the songs that I’d written needed: sounds that I couldn’t ever have thought of or created myself. We recorded so many of the songs live in the studio, playing, having fun and being really open with each other.”
The new single, “Every Little Heart,” came from a feeling of fearlessness, a confidence in making music after two years of relative silence. “But of course I still have little demons inside of me. I wrote some key changes in the song that came natural to me, but I worried they might sound unnatural to others. When 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 “Every Little Heart” video is the first part of a trilogy. It was directed by Jeroen Dankers and shot on 16mm Kodak film. Dankers 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.”
“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.” The time in isolation also brought him some newfound peace of mind. “Having been away from it taught me that making music and performing is what I’m doing for the rest of my life, and I’m so grateful for it. It has given me new confidence and playfulness. This is what I do. It’s unconditional.”
Mattson will be touring Europe and the UK this spring. Dates are listed below…
Wed. Apr. 12 – Copenhagen, DK @ Amager Bio
Thu. Apr. 13 – Arhus, DK @ Voxhall
Sun. Apr. 16 – Glasgow, UK @ QMU
Mon. Apr. 17 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
Tue. Apr. 18 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Cathedral
Wed. Apr. 19 – Leeds, UK @ The Leeds Irish Centre
Fri. Apr. 21 – London, UK @ O2 Forum
Sat. Apr. 22 – Bristol, UK @ Trinity – SOLD OUT
Mon. Apr. 24 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Tue. Apr. 25 – Antwerp, BE @ De Roma
Wed. Apr. 26 – Paris, FR @ La Cigale
Thu. Apr. 27 – Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks
Sat. Apr. 29 – Milan, IT @ Fabrique
Sun. Apr. 30 – Munich, DE @ Freiheitshalle
Mon. May 1 – Berlin, DE @ Metropol
Tue. May 2 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefahlrlich
Wed. May 3 – Malmo, SE @ Plan-B – SOLD OUT
Fri. May 5 – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene
Sat. May 6 – Stockholm, SE @ Cirkus – SOLD OUT
Sun. May 7 – Stockholm, SE @ Cirkus
Mon. May 8 – Gothenborg, SE @ Pustervik – SOLD OUT
Tue. May 9 – Gothenborg, SE @ Pustervik – SOLD OUT
