The Tallest Man on Earth

In 2008, Matsson released an album, Shallow Grave which was praised by the music site Pitchfork[12] and was listed #47 on Pitchfork's list of the 50 Best Albums of 2008.[13] The album received generally favorable reviews.[2][14] Following Shallow Grave's release, Matsson was chosen as the opening act for the American indie folk band Bon Iver.[15] The resulting publicity led to a solo tour throughout the United States, Australia and Europe, where he attracted large crowds in spite of the lack of a record deal or distribution in the United States.[11]

The song "Pistol Dreams", also released as a single, appeared in the Swedish television serial How Soon Is Now? (Swedish: Upp till kamp).[16]

On 9 October 2009, Matsson visited the Daytrotter studio, where he recorded four songs, including a cover of Bob Dylan's "I Want You."[17] At that time Matsson cited Roscoe Holcomb as an influence for his singing style,[18] and later included Emmylou Harris, Feist and Cat Power as influences.[19]

Matsson performing as The Tallest Man on Earth on 17 November 2010

Mattson signed with the American label Dead Oceans, and in April 2010 released his second album, The Wild Hunt.[11] The album was well received.[20][21][22][23][24] The single "King of Spain" contains, besides the title track, a cover of Paul Simon's "Graceland" and the previously unreleased track "Where I Thought I Met the Angels"; it was sold exclusively at the subsequent European tour. During the late summer and autumn of 2010 Matsson went on tour in North America and Europe.[25]

The album was followed that same year by an EP, Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird, which also got good reviews.[26][27][28] The EP was released through the iTunes Store in September, and in November was published on CD, LP and MP3. The album consists of five songs, all written for The Wild Hunt; "Like the Wheel" the conclusion of many of Matsson's gigs, and "The Dreamer", was the first recording on which he plays electric guitar.[29]

The Wild Hunt garnered Matsson several award nominations. In 2011, he was nominated in the category "Best Male Artist" in the Grammis Awards,[30] the Swedish equivalent of the American Grammy Awards, but lost to Håkan Hellström.[31] Matsson was also nominated in the category "pop" in the 2011 P3 Gold Awards,[32] but lost to Malmö indie pop band This Is Head.[33] In February 2011, Matsson won the Manifest Award in the "singer/songwriter" category; he was also nominated in the "live" category, lost to Robyn.[34]

On 5 April 2011, Matsson participated in the BBC's program, Later... with Jools Holland, where he performed the songs "King of Spain" and "Love Is All".[35] In June of the same year, Matsson's debut EP, The Tallest Man on Earth, was reissued with the previously unreleased track "In the Pockets" exclusive to the vinyl edition of the reissue. In July, he released the single "Weather of a Killing Kind" as part of the 2011 Adult Swim Singles program.[36]

In August 2011, Matsson had contributed to the soundtrack of the Swedish drama film En gång om året (English: Once a Year), along with the Idiot Wind.[37] The film premiered at the Gothenburg Film Festival on 29 January 2012 and had a theatrical release on 17 May 2013.[38]

On 27 January 2012, Matsson took part in the Swedish TV game show, På spåret where he, backed by a studio band, performed two cover songs: Thin Lizzy's "Dancing in the Moonlight" and Cornelis Vreeswijk's "En Fattig Trubadur" (English: A Poor Troubadour).[39] In February of that year, he re-released "King of Spain" as 12" vinyl for the event Record Store Day. the album was limited to 2000 copies.[40]

Mattsson performing as The Tallest Man on Earth at Bonnaroo 2013

On 12 June 2012 (June 11 in the UK), Matsson released his third studio album as The Tallest Man on Earth, There's No Leaving Now, on Dead Oceans. The album was recorded by Matsson himself in his home studio in Dalarna during the latter part of 2011 and early 2012.[3] The album was streamed on Dead Oceans' website a week before its official release.[41]

At the same time, Matsson released 1904 b/w Cycles, a 7" LP of his song "1904" as well his cover of the song "Cycles," written by Gayle Caldwell and made famous by Frank Sinatra.[42][43] He has also covered this song in live performances.[44][45][46]

Along with the album, Matsson announced a summer tour throughout Europe and the United States including two gigs in Sweden (at the Södra Teatern (English: Southern Theatre) in Stockholm) and a performance at the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island.[47] Matsson also toured in Europe in October 2012.[48]

On 28 January 2013, Matsson took part in a benefit concert for the American musician Jason Molina, who did not have health insurance and, consequently, was in debt after a hospital stay. The concert took place at the Södra Teatern (English: Southern Theatre) in Stockholm, where Matsson played alongside, among others, I'm Kingfisher and Idiot Wind.[49] Molina died on 16 March 2013.[50]

Matsson's fourth studio album as The Tallest Man on Earth, Dark Bird Is Home, was released on 12 May 2015 on Dead Oceans. The album was largely inspired by Matsson's divorce from Amanda Bergman as well as the death of a close family member, and its more elaborate instrumentation represented a musical shift from previous albums.[51]

Following its release, Matsson performed—with a full band—at several festivals, including the Roskilde Festival in 2015[52] and the Edmonton Folk Music Festival in 2016.[53]

On 4 February 2019, Matsson revealed that a new album would be released in 2019. In late February 2019, he revealed that his new album, now titled I Love You. It's a Fever Dream., would be released sometime in April. He also released the first single, "The Running Styles of New York" the same day. The second single, "I'm a Stranger Now" was released on 27 March. The album was released on April 19 2019.

Matsson's song It Will Follow the Rain from his eponymous EP was featured in a 2019 commercial for the Infiniti Q50 automobile.

• The Tallest Man on Earth (2006)
• Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird (2010)
• A Collaborative EP with yMusic (2017)
• When the Bird Sees the Solid Ground (2018)