Over the last two decades, Kristian Matsson, aka The Tallest Man On Earth, has channelled his vision of folk through a very American lens. He’s often compared to the Godfather of it all, Bob Dylan, and his voice can be a dead ringer for Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes.

For his eighth album, Just Beyond Endless Mountain, Matsson has returned to his roots. The result is not so much a complete reinvention of The Tallest Man On Earth’s sound, but a subtle and rich evolution of it. Recorded in Dalarna, the rural region in Sweden where Matsson grew up, it’s an album where you can almost visualise the Scandinavian scenery as each note is played.

It was the death of Matsson’s father which lay behind the relocation. He died in 2024 after living with Alzheimer’s Disease for many years, and his presence hangs over the record. It’s not a mawkish album though by any means – instead, it feels like a celebration of his background and the elements that shaped him.

Opening track The Wildest Of His Dreams is a suitably intimate, almost lo-fi introduction to the record. There’s a woozy, slightly disorientating feel to the violin that accompanies Matsson’s voice, which seems to wobble with emotion every so often.

Colors is a much more energetic number. Although the lo-fi sound is still present, the finger-picked guitar, horns and swirling strings give the track real momentum. It’s a throwback to the edgy urgency of some of his work, but with a new maturity in play.

The overall mood of the album though is relaxed and laid-back. The centrepiece of the record is Overboda, a beautiful duet with Swedish musician Sofia HK – written for Matsson’s best friend’s wedding, it’s a gentle ballad about finding your soulmate (“The tender longing to laugh, to laugh but not alone”) where Matsson and Sofia’s harmonies blend beautifully.

Scully It’s Me features just Matsson on acoustic guitar and switching between major and minor keys (a feature of polska, the Swedish folk music tradition), while the title track has a beautifully shuffling rhythm that becomes more infectious as the song progresses.

It’s an album where little details hide themselves, such as the lovely little clarinet detail in the standout In The Silver Wire Up The Hill, or the way that the orchestration in The Forest Keeper appears about to collapse before pulling itself together again.

With most of the instruments played by Matsson, Just Beyond Endless Mountains is very much a labour of love for the musician. Recorded on a reel-to-reel tape recorder in order to keep that sense of authentic Swedish field recordings, it’s a record best rewarded by an immersive listen. Listened to with a decent pair of headphones, you’re almost transported to Dalarna itself.

Just Beyond Endless Mountain is another vital addition to a canon which has only grown more impressive since his debut EP 20 years ago. In returning to his homeland and embracing traditional Scandinavian folk, Matsson has produced his finest album for some time, one where he feels reborn and revitalised.