Ryan Cassata sets fire to the status quo on ‘QUEER american DREAM’ and ‘i feel like throwing up’
Ryan Cassata has never been one to hold back, and on the first two tracks from his forthcoming album ‘Greetings from Echo Park’, he turns the volume all the way up on his truth.
‘QUEER american DREAM’ arrives with a snarl and a swagger. It’s gritty, blues-leaning rock built in a garage and meant to shake the foundations of the myth it challenges. Through distorted riffs and a pounding beat that sounds like it’s fighting for breath, Cassata tears into the illusion of the so-called American dream. But instead of chasing a version of success that was never built for him, he redirects the spotlight toward chosen family, queer joy, and hard-earned liberation. The vocal delivery is fierce but grounded, more invitation than diatribe.
On the other hand, ‘i feel like throwing up’ offers a very different kind of release. It’s heavy in weight rather than sound. If ‘QUEER american DREAM’ is the rally cry, ‘i feel like throwing up’ is the comedown, the quiet moment of collapse in a world that sometimes feels too loud. Written in the thick fog of medical treatments and enforced solitude, it pulses with slow, aching honesty. The production, courtesy of Mark Pelli, glows with a kind of gentle resignation, and lyrics that don’t beg for sympathy so much as recognition.
Together, these two songs paint a full picture of an artist navigating both inner and outer chaos, unafraid to scream, but equally unafraid to simply sit with pain. They offer a taste of what’s to come on ‘Greetings from Echo Park’, a record that will not only confront but connect.
Ryan Cassata is done trying to fit in. And thank god for that. We don’t need another conformist. We need artists who write their own anthems, stand firm in the discomfort, and pass the mic to the marginalised. With these songs, Cassata does just that.