My friends, they
Will sing this really loud
But unless a stranger sings it
I won’t really feel proud
My friends think that I’m going up
But I feel like throwing up, I feel like throwing up

These are lyrics from the amazing opening song (and telling video) of Ryan Cassata’s new album Greetings from Echo Park. Maybe you and I can be some of the strangers singing along?

The Los Angeles, California-based singer-songwriter—it is probably relevant to mention that he also manifests himself as an LGBTQ+ activist, transgender motivational speaker, performer, actor, and writer—delivers fourteen personal songs that lay bare a life marked by anxiety, chronic illness, and queer resilience. Cassata’s unmistakable voice anchors a genre-blurring mix of anti-folk, pop punk, and modern R&B—to be honest, not everything here is for everyone—swirling with emo confessions and Springsteen-sized ambition (the cover art nods to Greetings from Asbury Park).

This record is not just any record. It thrums with both urgency and survival, it radiates that we are dealing with something important that we may not yet be able to fully grasp, but that will eventually dawn on us. With more than a few tracks that could become classics. Charismatic and Intriguing.

Greetings from Echo Park is out now digitally, on CD and on ‘trans blue’ vinyl LP, through Kill Rock Stars.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Kill Rock Stars