MATTHEW RYAN BATTLES FOR THE FUTURE WHILE MINING THE PAST
ON INSPIRED ROCK ‘N' ROLL MASTERPIECE
MATTHEW RYAN VS THE SILVER STATE OUT APRIL 1 ON 00:02:59  
Early Praise For MRVSS and Stand out Track “American Dirt”
WB Drama “One Tree Hill” Features “Jane I Feel The Same”
U.S. Tour In May Includes CD To Ticket Holders
First Week CD Sales Breaks Into The CIMS Top 100 Chart

NASHVILLE, TENN. – April 10, 2008 – The follow-up to 2006's profound and critically acclaimed solo journey From A Late Night High-Rise , ambient folk/rocker Matthew Ryan released his eleventh release Matthew Ryan vs The Silver State ( MRVSS ), on April 1, 2008 with first week CD sales breaking the CIMS Top 100 Chart.

With his longtime band Vs The Silver State, Ryan will embark on the first leg of his U.S. tour beginning May 1. With the purchase of each ticket, fans will receive a copy of MRVSS to be redeemed the day of show.

MRVSS is an arrival that's been 25 years in the making for Ryan. "Everyone I know and love is in this record… including myself, there's a lot of myself in there. “It Could've Been Worse,” “They Were Wrong,” “Drunk And Disappointed”... they all speak to where I've been, where my friends have been, but not where we're going. I want us all to figure that out. I want everyone to win."

Where has Ryan been? Born and raised in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester into an Irish working class family, MRVSS embodies that spirit, heart, conscience of his upbringing with the muscle and grit that makes rock n roll timeless.

Recently, Paste Magazine honored MRVSS in an “ Editor's Pick ” as “...endlessly satisfying… there are 11 songs here, and absolutely no filler… his finest album” and as one of Andy Whitman's "Best Albums of the First Quarter of 2008."

“A hell of an album. I feel like I'm discovering Blood On The Tracks for the first time," praises Joe Hill , author of "Heart-Shaped Box" and "20th Century Ghosts."

Journalist Frank DiGiacomo praised in his article "Matthew Ryan's Essential New Album" on Vanity Fair.com: "...[MRVSS] is the best album of Ryan's career so far. It vaults him into the top tier of singer/songwriters, alongside Steve Earle and Paul Westerberg."

Despite military imagery on the front cover, MRVSS isn't about waging a political war, but rather winning the war within oneself. Ryan explains, “Nevada is The Silver State and home to Las Vegas. All that beauty and risk rises up out of nowhere. I think the idea of Las Vegas speaks to where I'm at, maybe even where “we” are as citizens, a country - gambling on or with the future. So to me, it means Matthew Ryan Vs An Uncertain Future.”

Listening to MRVSS , it's hard not to notice the visceral, fully engaged spirit of the songs and performances. Gone is the almost "just the facts, ma'am" delivery of some of his previous releases. MRVSS is the sound of a brilliant writer and a careening band fusing the passion, indignation, hopes and struggles of its characters with intimacy and an explosive, anthemic cinema. Utterly human and wide-awake, it's music that feels like a Scorsese film for the ears.

Recorded with longtime friends and compatriots Brian Bequette (guitars, bass and piano), Steve Latanation (drums and backing vocals) and Doug Lancio (production, engineering, mixing, guitars, bass and piano), MRVSS features guest contributions on vocals from Kate York and Thad Cockrell, Eoman McLouglin (The Greencards) on viola and Kris Donegan on guitar. Vs The Silver State is Bequette, Lantantion, Lex Price and Molly Thomas (violin).

On May 1, Ryan and band will embark on the first leg of their U.S. tour. Included with each ticket purchased is a copy of MRVSS to be redeemed day of show.

The Austin Chronicle raved of Ryan's SXSW performance “… Matthew Ryan stole the show to a packed inside crowd. Working his 11th album in as many years, Ryan powered the dramatic intensity of Irish balladeers like Glen Hansard or Damien Rice but cut with the gruff vocal grit of Springsteen.”

For more information, contact Think Press

http://www.myspace.com/matthewryan