Dark Bird Is Home
2015 studio album by the Tallest Man on Earth
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Dark Bird Is Home is the fourth LP by The Tallest Man on Earth. It was released on CD, digital and vinyl on May 12, 2015, through the label Dead Oceans.[1] The album is the first in his discography to feature a full band playing on almost every track.
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| Dark Bird Is Home | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 12 May 2015 | |||
| Genre | Folk | |||
| Length | 41:53 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Dead Oceans | |||
| Producer | Kristian Matsson | |||
| The Tallest Man on Earth chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Dark Bird Is Home | ||||
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Background
The songs of the album were recorded in various countries, studios, and barns, and are said to "carry a weather-worn quality, some dirt and some grit."[2] BJ Burton announced via his Instagram page that production on the album had begun in July 2014 and concluded in September 2014.[3][4] The album is said to be Matsson's most personal and direct piece of work, inspired by the death of a close family member and by the divorce from his wife, singer-songwriter Amanda Bergman.[5][6] A trailer for the album was released on February 10, 2015, with Matsson proclaiming that "this is not the end, this is fine".[7]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 75/100[8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [9] |
| The A.V. Club | B−[10] |
| Consequence of Sound | B+[11] |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10[12] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[13] |
| The Guardian | [14] |
| Mojo | [15] |
| Paste | (8.5/10)[16] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[17] |
| Pitchfork | 6.7/10[18] |
| Q | [15] |
Dark Bird Is Home received positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 21 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[8]
Commercial performance
The album debuted in the United States at No. 1 on Folk Albums, No. 8 on Top Rock Albums, and No. 67 on Billboard 200, with 8,000 sold in its first week.[19]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Kristian Matsson.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fields of Our Home" | 4:29 |
| 2. | "Darkness of the Dream" | 5:02 |
| 3. | "Singers" | 3:09 |
| 4. | "Slow Dance" | 3:39 |
| 5. | "Little Nowhere Towns" | 3:30 |
| 6. | "Sagres" | 5:15 |
| 7. | "Timothy" | 4:19 |
| 8. | "Beginners" | 3:16 |
| 9. | "Seventeen" | 4:09 |
| 10. | "Dark Bird Is Home" | 5:05 |
| Total length: | 41:53 | |
Personnel
- Kristian Matsson – banjo, bass guitar, clarinet, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmonica, alto horn, omnichord, pedal steel guitar, percussion, piano, synthesizer, tape machine, tom-tom drum, vocals, backup vocals
- Oskar Bond – piano
- BJ Burton – engineer, mixing, producer
- C.J. Camerieri – French horn, trumpet
- Bird Coulter – piano
- Dan Huiting – bass guitar
- Mike Lewis – bass guitar, piano, soprano saxophone, saxophone, synthesizer
- Huntley Miller – mastering
- Niclas Nordin – drums, percussion
- Mike Noyce – electric guitar, viola, violin, vocals, backup vocals
- Mats Winkvist – bass guitar
- Cameron Wittig – photography
Charts
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] | 98 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] | 68 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] | 40 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[23] | 30 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[24] | 60 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[25] | 11 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] | 54 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[27] | 69 |
| UK Album Downloads (OCC)[28] | 88 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[29] | 11 |
| US Americana/Folk Albums (Billboard)[30] | 1 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[31] | 8 |
| US Billboard 200[32] | 67 |