The Tallest Man on Earth: The Wild Hunt

It's an odd quirk that excellent English speakers from international schools pick up an American accent thanks to watching Hollywood movies. Swede Kristian Matsson (aka the Tallest Man ...) presumably learned English from listening to Highway 61 Revisited, such is his singing voice's Dylan-ness on his second LP. Matsson's approach is as simple as his gilded predecessor's early work – it's just him and a guitar throughout, but he plays wonderfully, imbibing each track with flickering acoustic melodies which he Zimmermans all over. Highlights come in the Devendra Banhart-like summer ditty The Drying of the Lawns and King of Spain, an ode to Iberia. The cameo of a piano on the closing Kids On the Run adds a bit of suitably (perhaps obligatory) Springsteen Jungleland-esque balladry to an already fine mix. Innovative? Absolutely not. But as 35 minutes of 50-quid-bloke folky guitar music goes, it's near impeccable.