New Music Tuesday: Revisiting Matthew Ryan vs. The Silver State

Life hasn't gotten any less hectic since I cut my Matthew Ryan review to 6 words, but in all the busyness, I've had plenty of time to digest the new album. The album kicks off with "Dulce Et Decorum Est" which not only sets up the album, it showcases the eloquence and beauty Ryan puts into crafting his songs. The title is Latin for "it is sweet and right" and the rhythm, melody and the haunting echo of Kate York's vocals draw me in to where I almost don't notice the introduction of the violin into the sound scape. One of the elements I've always loved about Matthew Ryan's music is the way he injects his unique whisper-like voice into the songs whether they are a slow or an upbeat song, it's still a bit of sadness and joy mixed up. Other highlights on the album are "Closing In" and "Meet Me By The River" wherein Brian Bequette adds haunting guitar to the picture drawn. "A Rainy Night in Soho" ("Now I'm not singing for the future/though I'm not dreaming of the past/I'm not talking about the first time/I never think about the last") is best taken with two fingers of whiskey, neat in a rocks glass. Again Matthew Ryan brings blue collar themes that are reminiscent of Springsteen like in "American Dirt", but in the same breath there are elements that sound like an analog new wave. The combo that was assembled to record this album pushed Ryan's brilliance to a new place. While he revisits some of the energy of his earlier records, it's definitely more sonic and organic than his last album From a Late Night High Rise which leaned a lot on the quiet and electronic. If you ask me, he has a strong enough track record that he's set himself up to be a can't miss artist from here on out. Matthew Ryan vs. The Silver State is a solid addition to the library. Just don't confuse him with (near)future first round draft pick Matt Ryan.

Update:
I forgot to include the tour dates for the MRVSS Tour...no West Coast, and of course no Alaska, but if you find yourself anywhere near these dates, it'll be well worth your time and effort to see him live.

May 1 ASHEVILLE, NC The Grey Eagle
May 2 ATLANTA, GA Eddie's Attic
May 3 CHARLOTTE, NC The Evening Muse
May 4 RALEIGH, NC Berkeley Café
May 6 ARLINGTON, VA The Iota
May 7 NEW YORK, NY The Living Room
May 8 PHILADELPHIA, PA World Café Live
May 9 PITTSBURGH, PA Thursday's
May 10 INDIANAPOLIS, IN Sam's Saloon
May 13 CHICAGO, IL Schuba's
May 14 CLEVELAND, OH Beachland Tavern
May 15 ANN ARBOR, MI The Ark
May 16 FORT WAYNE, IN Come2Go
May 17 NASHVILLE, TN Mercy Lounge

New Music Tuesday: 6 Word Quick Reviews

I spent a lot of time today listening to Matthew Ryan's new album and R.E.M.'s new album. Without enough time to do either of these albums justice with a Tuesday night review, I give you 6 word reviews. Click on images to go to Amazonmp3 where you can purchase or sample.
Matthew Ryan - Matthew Ryan vs. The Silver State
Beauty that sneaks up on you.
R.E.M. - Accelerate
Best R.E.M. album since 1994's Monster.

Below, a screenshot of what my morning looked like...just a snippet of hours of great music. (More)

Somedays the Internet is Extra-Awesome

Heather from I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS was a guest on NPR's World Cafe to talk about the best albums of 2007. Give it a listen (she has a link on her blog). If you remember we were in the same room for Josh Ritter's show in San Francisco back in March, though I did not recognize her. Many of her favorites fall in line with mine. And it's a great intro to music blogs and their impact on music.

That same post about Josh Ritter included a quick two sentence review of Nicki Chambly (now Bluhm). I recently noticed some traffic coming from NickiChambly.fuzz.com and followed the link back to the press tab of her profile where that article is listed. Thanks Nicki, and/or your people.

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only fan of Matthew Ryan because I never see him getting press despite being amazing, engaged with his fans, and critically heralded. Well, this morning while reading through my feeds, I came to an article about his home recordings Dissent from the Living Room and Hopeless to Hopeful being posted. The first thing Riche ever trusted the internet enough to buy online was Dissent and I remember being really impressed with the fact that Matthew Ryan would number and sign each copy (and I was impressed that my copy of These are Field Recordings was also signed). Since then I've become a huge fan, but Hopeless has always eluded me. So I followed the link and downloaded it. As Heather discussed in the interview above, sometimes artists are supportive and sometimes they're apprehensive about having their stuff posted for free. Here's what Matthew Ryan posted on his MySpace page about the albums being posted:

"After I left A&M Records I started working on my 4track. This was only a handful of years ago, the internet was just getting warmer. I'm still not sure how Napster took off with all that dial-up going on. But I started releasing some DIYs on my soon to be relaunched website (matthewryanonline.com). Dissent From The Living Room and Hopeless To Hopeful are very raw home-recordings. Some of these songs went on to be part of future records when they were "properly" recorded. So, I was burning the discs and making the artwork and trying to keep up. I didn't think I sell more than 40 or 50 CDs. It was amazing, because it was the first time I realized we were all out here looking for each other. There were humans across all those wires. The truth is, these DIY records were the first time that I made any real income from releases. The submarine word of mouth was very inspiring. And it was a very large part of why I'm still doing this. They went on to sell so well and consistently that I took them down because I couldn't keep up. And I genuinely felt bad when CDs took to long to arrive or, and I'll admit it now, I sometimes forgot to mail them!

So if you don't have these, go on ahead and grab them. I'm glad they're available at this blogspot. Plus, I don't have to grab scissors and lick stamps.

Share the link with anyone you know that might be looking for these songs."

New Music Tuesday: Make the Right Moves

(photo credit: Ko(char *)hook)

I caught myself editing this post because I've been using too shiny of hyperbole to describe how excited I am that Josh Ritter's new album is downloading from iTunes as I type. I've been hearing snippets for a few months and everything I've heard leads me to believe that it's a great follow up to The Animal Years (#6 best album of 2006). When I saw Josh play at the Swedish American Hall just before I left California for Alaska, it was a sweet sweet cherry on the top of a wonderful sundae of live music in my time down there. Well, although I've begged a little, I doubt that Josh Ritter will be scheduling any Anchorage dates this time around...but at least he's supplying plenty of music to make up for it. If you've listened to any of Ritter's music, it's clear that his narrative style is reminiscent of Guthrie and Springsteen...if it sounds like he's smiling while he's singing, it's a good chance he is. The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter has all the promise to cement itself ready to top the 2007 list of best albums. If you're not convinced by my preview, do a little investigation for yourself. You can download the Paste Culture Club podcast from 7/27/07 for samples or his website. iTunes has the album for just $9.99 but it contains 19 tracks (5 bonus tracks) and you can't go too far on the internet without stumbling upon the leaked track "To The Dogs or Whoever." You should also take a swing at "Right Moves." Portland, he's coming at you for two shows at the Aladdin, so get out there and show the Idaho native some lovin'...you won't regret it. His tour, sponsored by Paste Magazine, and involves his full band. The dates are below.

Speaking of Paste, in answer to my issue of having not received a CD sampler in one of my magazines, their customer service department (pretty sure it's outsourced) added a month to my subscription as an apology.

Another note, while I'm taking the time for a rare post, if you're on Myspace, you'll need to check out the songs Matthew Ryan's been posting...lots of good stuff. I'm in hate with Myspace right now, but seeing as MRyan was the reason I started an account, I'm still loyal to his posted music.

03-Oct-07 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street Ballroom

04-Oct-07 Boston, MA Somerville Theater

05-Oct-07 Boston, MA Somerville Theater

06-Oct-07 Westport CT - TBC

09-Oct-07 Washington D.C. 9:30 Club

11-Oct-07 Charlottesville, VA - TBC

13-Oct-07 Lewisburg, WV - Carnegie Hall Performing Arts Center

14-Oct-07 Charleston, WV - Mountain Stage radio show

15-Oct-07 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig

16-Oct-07 Chicago, IL - Park West

17-Oct-07 Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center

18-Oct-07 Boulder, CO - Fox Theater

20-Oct-07 Boise, ID - Egyptian Theater

21-Oct-07 Seattle - Showbox

22-Oct-07 Portland - Aladdin Theater

23-Oct-07 Portland - Aladdin Theater

24-Oct-07 San Francisco - Bimbo's 365 Club

25-Oct-07 Los Angeles - El Rey

27-Oct-07 Tucson, AZ -Plush

29-Oct-07 Austin, TX - the Parish

31-Oct-07 Birmingham AL - Workplay

01-Nov-07 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse

02-Nov-07 Nashville, TN - Exit-Inn

03-Nov-07 Louisville, KY - Headliners

04-Nov-07 Cincinnati, OH - Southgate House

0?-Nov-07 Carrborro, NC - Cat's Cradle - TBC

07-Nov-07 Philadelphia - World Cafe Live

09-Nov-07 New York - Webster Hall

Concert dates cut and pasted from email rec'd from publicist, so make sure to check with your local sources to confirm date and venues.

Also releasing 8/21 is the new Rilo Kiley, Under the Black Light (though not available yet at midnight EST like Josh Ritter). An album I was excited about until I heard the first single, "The Money Maker" and was a bit disappointed.

I should also mention that I've really been digging Eisley's new album, Combinations, it's pretty rockin compared to their previous work.

UPDATE: After listening to The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter most of the day today, I can thoroughly and whole heartedly recommend you pick it up. A little bit of everything for everyone.