Album Notes

It’s rare that you find music that can make you really feel life. Joy, sorrow, passion, humor—the music of Ryan Barnes embodies all of these and more. Ryan’s sound is folksy and organic, rich with Celtic influence and peppered with diverse originality. Witty lyrics keep you on your toes along with catchy tunes, carried by a wide variety of musical instruments. Earthy and decidedly Irish it is an eclectic mix heavy in Canadian influence. The many layers of Ryan’s original music twist and turn spinning you somewhat wildly somewhat magically down unexpected roads. Just when you think you know where a song is going it surprises you as Ryan’s vivid imagination comes out through his music and draws you into his subconscious. His music leaves you full of anticipation and is anything but predictable. Drawing heavily on his Canadian and folk tastes and morphing into a Celtic hodgepodge of acoustic and electronic music Ryan’s sound is unmistakable yet somewhat indescribable. Ryan’s own musical taste is as diverse as the over 20 musical instruments that he plays and contributes to his varied style. His inspirations are wide-ranging and add to the complexity of the music that he writes. Ryan’s style fuses elements such as Captain Tractor satire with the honesty of Jewel and the acoustic sound of the Dave Matthews Band with an Irish kick thrown in for emphasis. The best thing about his music is that it’s nearly impossible to compare it to anything else which gives it an originality that’s hard to find. Rough and raw with a polished edge and a unique style all his own, Ryan Barnes’ music portrays the reality of life—the joy, the pain, the truth, the utter comedy and ridiculousness of life itself through the eyes of someone who has lived well beyond his 30 years. Ryan’s clever sense of humor comes out through his music in a waterfall of lyrical truth. From the tenderness of Jalynne’s Song which he wrote for his daughter when leaving to join the army to the almost depressing calm and clumsy honesty of Never Knew written for one of his ex-girlfriends to the raw animal heartbeat of The Call Home from the newest album And Apples for Dessert, the music of Ryan Barnes is intelligent and passionate. If you are lucky enough to see Ryan Barnes play live, you will discover that not only does he get lost in the passion of his music but he invites you to become lost in it as well which is quite the adventure! You can almost see his soul sitting there on his guitar’s strings, open and vulnerable for the world to see and it draws you in like a magnet and sparks your curiosity. Whatever your musical taste, Ryan Barnes’ music will leave you intrigued with a smile on your face.
-The Lazy Firefly