Matthew Ryan’s voice is his signature instrument, known for its gruff, “been there, done that” tone. That, along with a sound that runs the gamut from indie-rock, to Americana, to his own version of country-tinged post-punk has allowed the Pennsylvania-born and based songwriter to carve out a cult following in the 20-plus years he’s been making records. In that time he’s shared bills with legends like Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, and The Replacements’ Tommy Stinson as well as modern genre-champions like Chuck Ragan and Jason Isbell. Recently, Ryan has seen a renewed interest in his music and story, beginning a few years back with the release of Boxers, a “fevered and smart rock ‘n’ roll record about the working class,” produced by Kevin Salem (Yo La Tengo, Marc Cohn, Peter Paul and Mary). On May 12th, 2017, Ryan will release Hustle Up Starlings, a heart-on-the-sleeve collection of silvery anthems that further illustrate Ryan’s reinvigorated love of language, noise, and cinema.
Produced by The Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon, Starlings shimmers with an immediate and captivating focus. The 10-song set clocks in at 40 minutes with no prevarication or bluster, just a celebratory noise alight with hearts and history, broken-in voices and poetry.
Recorded last year in Nashville, Hustle Up Starlings features a set of songs that share a mutual spirit and common roots—The Clash, The Replacements, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Leonard Cohen, The Cure, and The Jam. A cast of experienced friends and friends of friends joined Ryan and Fallon in the studio to bring the songs to life. Brad Pemberton (Steve Earle, Ryan Adams) played drums and percussion; Brian Bequette (long-time blood brother and band member of Ryan’s) played bass; Fallon played electric and acoustic guitars while helming production; Doug Lancio engineered and mixed while adding synth and additional guitars. Ryan sang and played guitar, while David Henry (former cellist for Cowboy Junkies) added strings where needed.
“It’s an intimate story I’m telling here. These songs are personal, but if I’m lucky and I’ve done my job, they become universal,” says Ryan. “The story I’m living and writing about is happening in the context of this world we’re all observing and feeling right now, a world that feels like it might catch fire with all its uncertainty and friction, the ugly politics and rising impulses.”
Ryan explains further, “You see, this is what we do though, even when the world feels like it’s about to burn down, we keep leaning for tomorrow in our own lives and stories and families. It’s all hope and perseverance. We get up, and we go to work. We believe in tomorrow, even when we’re not sure what tomorrow will be. Friend and fellow musician Joe Henry helped me to realize that I should probably tell the whole story as best I could. Brian and Doug and the band helped me bring it to life so it could be heard and shared. And hopefully felt.”
Hustle Up Starlings is out May 12, but you can stream it below exclusively here...