Buffalo, New York singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Perdz has officially planted his flag in the modern rock landscape, and he’s doing it with a cover that no one saw coming. The 25-year-old has just released a fuzzed-out, riff-heavy reimagining of “Time to Pretend” — the first cover he’s ever put to tape and a fitting final teaser before his debut album ‘Can’t Cry’ arrives August 14 via Big Machine Rock.

Where the original leaned on shimmering synths and wide-eyed indie euphoria, Perdz drags the track into a darker, grittier corner of the room. Heavy distortion, new guitar riffs, and a snarling rock delivery flip the song’s angsty lyrics into something that sounds more like a basement anthem than a festival singalong — and honestly, it works alarmingly well.

“‘Time to Pretend’ is the first cover I’ve ever released,” Perdz said of the track. “I wanted to record something that I could change the genre and really make my own. The lyrics are so raw and I felt like heavy distortion and new guitar riffs would transform the song into something new. The angsty lyrics paired up with heavy guitars turn the song into a new rock fueled anthem.”

The cover follows previously released singles “Sour” and the emotionally heavy “Heavy Eyes,” both of which set the tone for ‘Can’t Cry’ — an 11-track debut that pulls from the 90s rock DNA of Nirvana, Chris Cornell, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Led Zeppelin without ever feeling like a nostalgia exercise. Raised on his grandparents’ family farm and self-taught on guitar, bass, violin, and mandolin, Perdz writes with the kind of lived-in clarity that can’t be faked.

Stream “Time to Pretend” on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/search/Ryan%20Perdz%20Time%20to%20Pretend

‘Can’t Cry’ Tracklist:
1. Sour
2. Blood on My Love
3. Talking Bout Yourself
4. Heavy Eyes
5. Temporary
6. Black Rainbows
7. Bluebird
8. Adeline
9. Mona Lisa
10. Chelsea
11. Pink Clouds

Fans can also catch Perdz on the road throughout his Summer 2026 tour, which wraps June 19 in Chicago:

6/12 — Syracuse, NY — Gorham Brothers Music
6/13 — Buffalo, NY — Revolver Records (hometown show)
6/14 — Detroit, MI — Rock & Brews
6/17 — Madison, WI — High Noon Saloon
6/18 — St. Louis, MO — Blueberry Hill
6/19 — Chicago, IL — Taste of Randolph

With tens of millions of views across social platforms, millions of streams, and a new home at Big Machine Rock, Ryan Perdz is quickly shaping up to be one of the more compelling voices in the next wave of rock — the kind of artist who can tear down an indie classic and rebuild it in his own image without breaking a sweat.