It's always nice when you hear something pretty that reminds you of a peaceful pond in the woods somewhere. Look out Thoreau, The Tallest Man on Earth is dropping by your cabin. That's the long moniker of Sweden's Kristian Matsson, a sure-handed folkster in the most traditional sense.

With his acoustic guitar, he beautifully sings and finger-plucks lyrically rich tunes of life, love, nature and (of course) death. And he goes at it with complete conviction in his musical poetry.

I like that the first influence he mentions on his MySpace page is Bob Dylan. Many aspiring troubadours probably wouldn't go right for Dylan because it's the obvious, or less sexy, choice. But this dude doesn't care. His songs are good and he wants to be the next Bob Dylan. What's wrong with that?

While definitely folk, The Tallest Man on Earth sings with a little southern twang. So strangely, this music is kind of like Americana meets Scandanavia meets Appalachia. Weird, right?

Matsson just played a whole bunch of US dates with Bon Iver, a perfect stage partner. If you're feeling mellow and reflective, you might enjoy taking this for a spin.

BUY TICKETS TO SEE THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH (AND JOHN VANDERSLICE) AT THE EMPTY BOTTLE!

The Tallest Man on Earth play The Empty Bottle, on Saturday, June 6th.