A Jace media music review
There are debut albums that arrive politely, introduce themselves and ask for your attention. Then there are albums like Ryan Perdz’s Can’t Cry that kick the door in, plug the guitar straight into the amp and demand that you listen. This is not a record built to chase trends, and it certainly isn’t a polished exercise in trying to manufacture the next social-media rock star. Can’t Cry is raw, emotional, guitar-driven and unapologetically honest – and if this is the sound of the next generation of rock, then the future is looking pretty damn healthy.
Released on 14 August 2026 through Big Machine Rock, Can’t Cry is the debut full-length album from 25-year-old Buffalo, New York singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Perdz. It is an album that carries the scars of its influences proudly, drawing heavily from the emotional darkness of 90s alternative rock while throwing enough modern energy into the mix to ensure it never feels like a simple nostalgia trip.
Perdz grew up on his grandparents’ family farm and taught himself guitar at just ten years old. Since then, his musical journey has expanded to bass, violin and mandolin, giving him an impressive understanding of both instruments and arrangements. His influences read like a who’s who of guitar-driven rock – Nirvana, Chris Cornell, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Led Zeppelin – but the impressive thing about Can’t Cry is that Perdz doesn’t simply sound like somebody trying to recreate his heroes.
He has taken those influences and made them his own.
And that is where this album really starts to bite.
Opening with “Sour,” Perdz immediately throws us into the darker side of his songwriting. There is no gentle introduction here. Instead, we are dropped straight into themes of isolation, self-doubt, self-sabotage and the difficulty of breaking away from destructive patterns. It is an opener that tells you exactly what kind of album you’re about to hear.
This is personal music.
There is a difference between writing about difficult subjects and actually making the listener feel them. Perdz manages the latter. His lyrics don’t feel manufactured for dramatic effect; they feel lived in. There is vulnerability running underneath the guitars, and that combination gives the songs their power.
“Blood On My Love” keeps the momentum moving, while “Talking Bout Yourself” brings another dimension to the record. Perdz isn’t afraid to look at relationships, behaviour and the complications that come with being young, trying to find your place and occasionally getting things spectacularly wrong.
Then comes “Heavy Eyes,” and this is where the emotional weight of Can’t Cry really hits home.
The song deals with loss and the feeling of carrying something inside you that you simply cannot put into words. It is the sort of track that doesn’t need to scream to make its point. There is a heaviness to it, a sense of exhaustion and emotional damage that will connect with anyone who has ever struggled to explain what is going on inside their own head.
And this is one of Perdz’s greatest strengths.
He doesn’t pretend to have all the answers.
Instead, he gives a voice to the uncertainty.
“Temporary” arrives as a shorter, sharper moment before the album moves into “Black Rainbows,” “Bluebird,” “Adeline,” “Mona Lisa,” “Chelsea” and “Pink Clouds.” The tracks may be relatively concise, but that works in the album’s favour. There is very little fat here. Songs arrive, make their point and move on, keeping the record constantly moving forward.
What makes Can’t Cry particularly interesting is the journey Perdz has taken to get here.
This isn’t an artist who suddenly appeared from nowhere because somebody discovered him on TikTok yesterday. Perdz has spent years developing his craft, independently releasing music, putting out singles and his First Sight EP, while building a huge online following and generating tens of millions of views across social media.
That digital audience may have opened the door, but the music is what keeps it open.
Signing with Big Machine Rock in 2025 gave Perdz the opportunity to step up and create the album he had been building towards. Can’t Cry feels like the moment where the independent artist becomes a fully formed recording artist.
And importantly, it doesn’t feel over-produced.
There is still dirt under the fingernails.
There is still that sense of a kid picking up a guitar and playing because he has something inside him that needs to come out.
For a 25-year-old artist, Perdz has a surprisingly mature understanding of emotional songwriting. He understands that rock doesn’t always have to be about swagger, rebellion and volume. Sometimes the most powerful rock song is the one that admits you’re struggling.
That’s what gives Can’t Cry its identity.
The album takes the spirit of 90s grunge – the distortion, the melancholy, the anger and the emotional honesty – and brings it into a world where young musicians have an entirely different relationship with their audience. Perdz understands that modern rock can exist both on the stage and through a phone screen without sacrificing authenticity.
But ultimately, forget the numbers.
Forget the millions of views.
Forget the social media following.
Put the record on and listen to the songs.
That’s where Ryan Perdz makes his strongest argument.
Can’t Cry sounds like an artist who still has something to prove. There is hunger here, and that hunger is important. It means this doesn’t feel like the final destination. It feels like the beginning of something considerably bigger.
There are moments where the influences are obvious, but that’s not necessarily a weakness. Every great rock artist has a musical family tree. What matters is what you do with those influences, and Perdz has already started carving his own branch.
This is a debut that isn’t afraid of darkness, but it isn’t consumed by it either.
Underneath the anger, sadness and uncertainty is hope.
Underneath the distortion is melody.
And underneath everything is a songwriter who clearly has plenty more to say.
Ryan Perdz has arrived – and Can’t Cry is one hell of an introduction.
For anyone who grew up with Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and the heavier side of 90s alternative rock, there is plenty here to get excited about. For younger listeners discovering that sound for the first time, Perdz could prove to be exactly the kind of artist who bridges the gap between generations.
This isn’t simply a throwback.
This is a new artist taking an old flame and setting fire to it all over again.
Raw. Emotional. Gritty. Honest. Can’t Cry is a seriously impressive debut from Ryan Perdz, and if this is the starting point, we’re going to be watching very closely to see where he goes next.
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