INDIANAPOLIS — Matthew Ryan comes by his disenchantment honestly.
The folk rocker’s 2006 album, “From a Late Night High Rise,” chronicled his brother’s prison sentence and losing a close friend to cancer. The follow-up, “Matthew Ryan Vs. The Silver State,” delves equally into human ennui and malaise. Only this time, a fighting spirit prevails.
“When you go through those things, you’ve got two choices,” said Ryan of his personal troubles. “You can either become a broken cynic, or in the immortal words of Dylan Thomas, you can rail against the dying of the light. We’re all going to experience these things, unless we live alone and excommunicate ourselves from intimacy and friendships and family. Ultimately they should put you in a position to make your life more meaningful.”
It certainly has for Ryan. He was like any other youth, growing up Irish in the working class Philly suburb of Chester, Pa. Not only did Ryan’s parents instill a prismatic view of the world in him, they routinely played great music in the household.
“I appreciate that as much as them putting a roof over my head,” he said.
Having U2’s “The Unforgettable Fire” playing in the background made the row houses and refineries of Chester a symbol of strength for Ryan.
“All of a sudden there was an elegance in my mind about it,” he said. “It really made it beautiful for me.”
It helped mold Ryan into the hard-boiled, Springsteenian storyteller of the human condition he is today.
“I’ve concluded this is where I write from,” Ryan said. “This is my strength. Hopefully it’s personable to anybody.”
It’s buoyed him through a career that’s had its ups and downs, taking him from major record labels to independent ones and do-it-yourself projects in between. “MRVSS” marks only the second time Ryan has worked with the same imprint that released his previous record. It’s not that he’s a glutton for punishment. It’s that writing music feels like a necessity instead of just an urge.
“When I write a song, it’s when I feel most alive,” Ryan said. “That’s almost like a compulsion — the desire to state your case and to hopefully say something that’s meaningful in the greater context of what it means to be human.
“I have a firm belief that eventually I’ll win. Hopefully, I’ll recognize that moment.”
Wade Coggeshall writes for the Hendricks County Flyer in Avon, Ind.
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Online:
www.matthewryanonline.com
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