Matthew Ryan Jacobs

Canadian Americana Songsmith MATTHEW RYAN JACOBS Cherishes The Moment On New Track ‘EMPTY ROOMS’

Posted on by JL

Daily electricity to load your batteries

28 September 2025

Artist: MATTHEW RYAN JACOBS

Who: Singer/songwriter from Kitchener Waterloo Ontario, CA. He started out playing
in rock and alternative bands throughout Ontario in the 2000s. In 2019 he made the
move to focus on his solo career. He blends elements of folk, delta blues, soul, and
rock. He released his debut EP Living In Between in 2021.

Track: EMPTY ROOMS

“The idea behind “Empty Rooms” started out as me trying to write a happy song, but it ended up a little darker in the end. I was looking at my life and being grateful that most of my family and people close to me are still around and healthy; and trying to be in the moment now because it won’t always be like this. That’s the line, “time may tell, but it will always take”, it’s inevitable.”

TUTV: Americana at its enrapturing best. The acoustic, pondering melancholia
of the intro transits into a full, electrically orchestrated zestfulness that boosts
the song in an eye/ear blink.

Living in the moment, amidst your beloved ones, family and friends, is the key to experiencing a joie de vivre for being here. Jacobs‘ soul-stirring voice carries Empty Roomsall the way. Think Tom Petty, John Mellencamp and Jeff Tweedy. Let’s go straight
to the light at the end of the tunnel and enjoy life.


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Instagram – Linktree

MATTHEW RYAN JACOBS – Americana Romanticism The Canadian Way With His New EP ‘THE TROUBLE IN ME’

Posted on by JL

16 August 2023

Artist: MATTHEW RYAN JACOBS
Who: A singer/songwriter from Kitchener Waterloo Ontario, CA.
Incorporating everything he loves into his sound. From Delta Blues
to alternative rock, to singer songwriters like Bob Dylan and Tom Petty.

New EP: THE TROUBLE IN ME

Jacobs about the EP: “The EP took a bit of a different approach than my last one.
My last EP ‘Living in Between’ had a bit more of a blues influence, and a few tracks that
weren’t really single material but added a cool element to the overall EP. With The Trouble
in Me I wanted it to be difficult to pick which songs to release, I wanted each one to be able
to stand on its own.

There is definitely more folk, and I don’t want to say pop, but pop elements to this one;
and that could just be because the songs are better. Lyrically there is a consistent theme of moving on, getting older, and getting over some poorer choices from the past. At points it can very dark, but I think there is plenty of optimism to balance it out. Once again, everything was recorded by Ben Kempel and myself, and mixed by Ben.”

TUTV:: This is Americana romanticism performed the Canadian way. Melancholic, sincere, tender and telling/singing real-life stories. A lot of singer-songwriters/crooners, now and then, such as Matt Bernigner, Jeff Buckley, Nick Drake, Dylan, and many more do not write about the birds and bees, no, they look in-and-outside of their hearts and souls, they register the accompanying emotions and most of them conclude that life isn’t a walk in
the park, as we all experience(d) one way or another. Primus inter pares, Nick Cave even went so far, after investigating the pitch-black side of his mind, that he wrote an album full of murder ballads.

Mind you, Jacobs doesn’t go that far but also looks back and forth, scanning his life from
an introspective point of view. For example, Street Lights is about the inescapable fact that ‘in the end we’re all going to die’. And the title track is about keeping your individualism and not changing who you are to fit whatever people think you should.

He embeds his feelings, reveries and meditations into bittersweet slo-mo tunes, beautifully arranged and grippingly orchestrated. When acoustic and gently weeping electric guitars, a warm 60s-sounding organ and subtle piano play meet each other,
you’re not far away from dreamland. And last but not least there’s Jacob‘s impassioned
and arresting voice, completing the sonic collage he painted here.

Listen/enjoy.


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MRJ: Instagram – Website

Soulful Sunday With MATTHEW RYAN JACOBS And His Heavy-Hearted Musing ‘STREET LIGHTS’

Posted on by JL

Reveries for the laziest day of the week

11 June 2023

Who: A singer/songwriter from Kitchener Waterloo Ontario, CA. Incorporating everything he loves into his sound. From Delta Blues to alternative rock, to singer songwriters like Bob Dylan and Tom Petty.

New single: STREET LIGHTS

JABOCS: “The lyrics to Street Lights are a little depressing if you really pay attention to
them or read them outside of the music and melody. The song kind of moves through
stages of life – the first verse being young and hopeful, the second verse being the reality of adulthood, and the bridge is kind of a ”shut your mouth and don’t ask questions“ scenario.
With the chorus reminding you that in the end we’re all going to die. This is only one perspective though, and a negative one.”

An old abandoned drive in diner sits weathered and rotting

TUTV: Americana twilight romanticism the Canadian way. Heavy-hearted and disturbed
as MRJ touches the difficult issue of life’s inescapable fact that in the end we’re all going to die. Great thing here is that MRJ’s warm and comforting voice and the galvanizing spirit of Street Lights sound rather encouraging than downcast, making feel our common fate less final. Invigorating voice, riveting melody/song. Score!


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MRJ: Instagram

MATTHEW RYAN JACOBS With Melancholic Pop Pearl ‘SUN GOES DOWN’

Posted on by JL

Reveries for the laziest day of the week

10 July 2022

Artist: MATTHEW RYAN JACOBS
Who: Canadian singer-songwriter
and indie folk artist

New single: SUN GOES DOWN

Jacobs: “”Sun Goes Down” started out as more of a blues song, but once the lyrics started to come together, I slowed it down and it ended up a little more on the soul side. Lyrically it’s kind of a story about where I was heading or loosely based on people I know or have known. It’s a little bit about addiction, and not wanting to let go of your youth; when drinking and partying just slowly turns into your life; and people and things start passing you by. You feel like you’re “living” but you’re stuck in one place.”

TUTV: To be honest I’m a sucker for melancholic pop pearls, like this sepia-colored one. Just close your eyes and let this fanciful sparkling enter your daydreams. It’ll feel moony and  romantic.

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Also streaming on Spotify…

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MRJ: Instagram