Over the past three years, Matthew Ryan has honed his craft and perfected the art of the album novella exploring semi-autobiographical characters and themes. Beginning with 2006’s From A Late Night High Rise, he confronted loss (a friend to cancer and his brother to prison) while battling demons for "a settling of the past with an eye toward the future" (- Performing Songwriter ) on 2008’s Matthew Ryan Vs The Silver State, inspired by his childhood in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
On Dear Lover, his twelfth recording, Matthew Ryan offers his most personal collection yet, navigating the intimate space between lovers where passion, doubt, fear and desire co-exist. This is the first release for The Dear Future Collective due digitally October 27 and in-stores on February 16, 2010 through CIMS.
Dear Lover is a mea culpa, a cry to fight for what you hold most dear with some of Ryan’s most poignant lyrics: "I want that feel/Like a plane when it arrives/Where at the gate/Family waits with quiet smiles" — from on the opener "City Life."
Much of the album was inspired by events in the Spring of 2009 as Matthew recalls, "In short, last winter I found myself in an emergency room with someone I love. It seemed too soon. I guess it always is. But it started my head spinning around these songs once everything turned out alright." Adding, "It’s a collection dedicated to saying the things between lovers that often go unsaid. It’s not all doom and gloom. But you know, earnest to say the least."
Although his twelfth album, it is his first self-recorded effort. Nine of the ten tracks were recorded at The Lerkim, his home studio in Nashville, with the exception of "Some Streets Lead Nowhere." But it wasn’t all a one man show. Again, Matthew enlisted the talents fellow musicians/friends Molly Thomas (violin), Scott Simontacchi (mandolin), Brian Bequette (guitar, bass, accordion), Billy Mercer (bass), Amanda Shires (violin) and Rod Picott (vocals), while collaborating with DJ Preach to create and ambient, ethereal remix of "Spark."
