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The majority of music in recent years has left me uninspired. No matter how beautifully composed it is, or how much it pushes the boundaries of experimentation, there’s always this miniscule part of me that walks away feeling like I gained absolutely nothing from the experience. Perhaps that’s because it’s just music, and I’ve come to expect far too much out of words precariously scattered across instrumental arrangements. Maybe it has to do with the fact that for once in my life, I’m actually happy and music is no longer required to fill the holes that loneliness and crippling insecurity used to carve out on a daily basis. Whatever the reason is, though, I can always point to certain albums that possess some elusive, intangible trait that allows them to transcend what I consider to be “just music” and cross over into a realm of ideal purpose and meaning. Is it a sense of urgency and lyrical profundity? Maybe technical ingenuity and experimentalism? Or perhaps simply the ability to transport my mind away from whatever mundane task I’m engaged in at the time? It could be all of those things, or maybe none of them. Honestly, I still have no idea what that quality is…but I know that the more I listen to The Wild Hunt, the closer I come to finding it.
The Wild Hunt is like a spur of the moment road trip through the countryside. The deceptively complex fingerpicking, the skeletal guitar-and-vocals songwriting approach – it all feels like a refreshing breeze blowing through the open roof of a car. It’s as if that sensation, that joyous spontaneity, was captured in a bottle and then released in a recording studio. The way that Kristian Matsson (who is The Tallest Man on Earth) seamlessly winds and turns through each song is nearly as breathtaking as the landscape pictured on the album’s front cover. His raw and at times even acerbic vocals only enhance the experience, providing an earthy contrast to the pristine sounding acoustic guitars. People love to equate him to Bob Dylan, and I’d be lying if I said the comparison wasn’t suitable. He sings with tremendous passion, and every lyric he pens is tethered to his heart with invisible strings. When he mutters, practically unnoticeably, “love is fake so I get hurt”, I feel a pit in the bottom of my stomach. When he belts out, almost proudly, “I plan to be forgotten when I’m gone”, it makes me wonder if I’ve had the wrong idea about death all along. When words can be put on paper so eloquently, and sung with the fervor of a man alone with his thoughts on a mountain top, even an instrumentally bare-bones foundation can become the richest sonic palette in the world. Maybe that’s what this is all about. An average man, with flaws and heartache, becomes The Tallest Man on Earth by learning how to cope with it all through passionate and thoughtful self-expression. I may never pinpoint that one trait that makes The Wild Hunt an all-time classic in my mind. But when an album makes me feel this liberated, this empowered…this free, I don’t think there’s much point in trying.
| other reviews of this album |
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Album Rating: 5.0
2 more reviews until I reach the big 2-5-0.
Just a short write-up. May review a few more classics on my way to the milestone.
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.. why is this in the user review section? is that what's happening now when you guys review older releases?
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
Yeah, if we review an album that isn't from the current year it goes at the bottom now. We're trying to keep the top half of the page entirely new & relevant.
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good thinking. lovely little review too
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
"The Wild Hunt is like a spur of the moment road trip through the countryside. The deceptively complex fingerpicking, the skeletal guitar-and-vocals songwriting approach – it all feels like a refreshing breeze blowing through the open roof of a car."
YES. lovely review indeed Sowing. This is pretty close to a 4.5 for me
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Great review. Can't wait for the new Album.
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
Thanks all. I'm really excited to hear Dark Bird as well.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
ily
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We're trying to keep the top half of the page entirely new & relevant.
this is a weird policy imo. why is sputnik staff so obsessed with the new? a good number of staff reviews are featured anyways, so why not leave old albums in the staff queue?
also re only ever featuring new releases: what's the point in reviewing anything old if you can't get a feature for it? even if the top section should be reserved for new, could we have a new section for excellent reviews of old stuff? If I review something in the hopes that more people will hear it, it's barely getting any exposure unless it's featured. hell, i've seen featured albums that never surpass 20 votes - imagine how ignored the majority of old releases go. idk this is really unstructured but it's something i've wondered about for a while now. is it like a journalism thing, people only give a shit about things happening RIGHT NOW?
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"why is sputnik staff so obsessed with the new?"
- idk, why do video game review sites focus on the new? people want to see what's on the up and up, and i'd like to think sputnik staff have their ear to the ground and bring me some insight on something i haven't heard yet (i'd like to think)
"what's the point in reviewing anything old if you can't get a feature for it?"
"is it like a journalism thing, people only give a shit about things happening RIGHT NOW?"
- yup. essentially, reviewers here are journalists of a sort. new albums bring the numbers. i get that a lot of people here (like yourself) are down to fuck with older stuff, but the average person visiting the site wants to see what's new.
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New releases are the main attraction with most music review publications, it's always been that way.
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on one hand that makes perfect sense.... but like come on there are so many good old albums that nobody has heard of, do we really need to feature a review of the new kelly clarkson?
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"do we really need to feature a review of the new kelly clarkson?"
beats me. pretty sure necrotica requested a feature for it, and maybe it was decently well-written. plenty of good new albums too, but people are busy with IRL shit (i'm still in exam season) so not a lot of reviews being pumped out lately compared to, like, summertime where I've seen 30ish+ new reviews a day
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"why is sputnik staff so obsessed with the new?"
It's how we get new visitors, when an album's currently relevant and someone reviews it, it's bound to get the site some attention
Reviewing new important releases is also what keeps Sputnik as a relevant music review site in the eyes of sites like Metacritic and Wikipedia
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
Fantastic post, Sowing... this record is so amazing.
And honestly, it makes perfect sense for new reviews to be featured and focused on more. I used to be annoyed about the same subject too, but retro reviews just can't beat the hype of a new album by a veteran artist or even the excitement of hearing an up-and-coming artist. Personally, I feel like there should be a balance between the old and the new when it comes to a journalist's focus. It creates more variety in one's reviewing style because there are more perspectives to come from.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Awesome job man, love the record too.
My dad and I argue about his voice sometimes, he loves the lyrics but absolutely despises his voice.
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Like I said, the obsession with the new now makes sense when viewed in the light of maintaining relevance.
However, I still think there should be some kind of feature equivalent for reviews of old albums. Maybe a separate feature box? although idk where that would go. reviewing things is one way to get them some attention, but after twenty people post their reviews of the new deftones, your super awesome obscure 1993 IDM review is going to be completely overlooked. Short of aggressively recommending said record (and in the process looking like ArsMoriendi) there is no real solution to this.
idk, sorry to clutter up your review thread with this, but the review was dope (and feature-worthy) and when you stated that they were removing all old staff reviews from the staff box and lumping them in with the users, I really had to get my thoughts/questions/concerns out.
| | | Album Rating: 1.0
guys voice is annoying but otherwise this is gud
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
Guys voice is the opposite of annoying this is gud
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
it's pretty shitty when he hits these high notes, otherwise it's alright. Pretty guitar tho.
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