I’ll never know what it’s like trying to live an authentic life as a trans person but thanks to Ryan Cassata, I feel like I’ve gotten a small insight.
By Graeme Smith
Ryan has been telling his story with his music for years and has been featuring on our blog since 2018. His lyrical astuteness and unique brand of folk rock always keeps us coming back for more, and his new EP feels like his most ambitious effort to date.
This Machine Kills Transphobia is an provocative and empowering title for a quickfire six-track collection that takes on everything from organised religion to conservatism in an effort to rail against the systemic elements that keep queer people at the fringes of society. Yet, with every fiery denouncement comes an encouraging message of love, and the audience for this EP is as much those who need empowering as those who seek to take the power away.
For the record, Ryan assumes a full-band sound, ably supported by The Top Surgeons. The result is some raw and energetic folk punk. It’s introduced strikingly with EP opener The Truth The Life The Way which pairs Ryan’s storytelling lyrics with some cathartic riffs.
Queers to the Front is a pacy punk number that acts as a fist-raising call to action. Burn The Cis-Tem (This Machine Kills Transphobia) brings with it rumbling bass, garage rock sensibilities and some howling, rousing vocals. T4T gives us a little sensual romance before What’s With Straight Dudes Claiming They’re Straight calls out the inauthenticity that can come with sexual encounters. Saturn Is Returning finishes things with an expansive moment with poetic lyrics.
Ryan and his band’s new EP never pauses for breath, and beautifully articulates the urgency of the struggle for queer rights in a world full of those who will deny them. With it, Ryan proves once again that his ability to weave a tale is second to none, and The Top Surgeons introduce a pleasingly heavy punk element to his sound. This EP is important.
This Machine Kills Transphobia is out now and you can check it out below.
