The Tallest Man On Earth

Album review

There's no word available at this writing on just how high the Tallest Man on Earth actually stands, but the artist who has embraced this moniker performs with enough authority that one is tempted to believe he could top out at eight feet. This five-song EP is as simple as can be -- one man with an acoustic guitar, strumming and finger-picking in the rural blues style while he sings with a strong, slightly rough-edged voice, all recorded on what sounds like a slightly wobbly tape machine. While the tone suggests an artist channeling someone from Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, there's a cinematic richness to the lyrics which is thoroughly contemporary and engaging. "Steal Tomorrow" and "Walk the Line" occasionally recall Bob Dylan's early work, but with a less cluttered train of thought and the confidence of an artist forging a style of his own; whoever this guy is, he's one nuevo folkie who has absorbed his influences while carving out a template of his own, and while these five songs seem over much too soon, they're an auspicious debut from an artist worth watching.
© Mark Deming /TiVo