Originally Published on March 9th, 2026

~ About the Artist ~

Sometimes, I like to go to my profiles on music platforms and listen to the “similar artists” that are listed. I like to see who the algorithms compare me to. A couple of weeks ago, I did this and I happened across an artist that is just extraordinary.

Born in New Jersey, Cassie Ramone sounds like vintage rock in mint condition. I heard one song, I’m Going Home and went straight to her bandcamp profile to buy all of her music. As I began reading, and digging into everything I could find about this artist, I kept finding new treasures. Like, for instance, in addition to her solo work, Ramone fronts the all girls rock band, Vivian Girls. She also formed the indie rock band, The Babies. All encompassing, these projects earn tens of thousands of monthly listeners, and have more than 30 million streams.

With those numbers, it’s perfectly conceivable that many have heard Cassie Ramone, regardless of whether or not they’re aware of her solo work, but I am here to say that listeners should take note. Her solo work is extraordinary.

As a solo artist, Ramone debuted in 2014 with her album, The Time has Come. The Time has come is heavily reminiscent of early Lykki Li and is a stripped, organic tip of the hat to indie and alt folk. In 2015, she released a Christmas album, Christmas in Reno. The thing I love about this song, the originality in the covers. For instance, Run Run Rudolph is practically unrecognizable, but has the same theme and lyrics. Both albums exhibit the founding spacious, reverb heavy indie rock sound of her music, but she really catches an amazing stride with her third LP, Sweetheart.

~ Sweetheart ~

Cassie Ramone’s third album, Sweetheart, released on September 17th, of 2024. At 11 songs, it runs just under 39 minutes. In addition to the previously mentioned I’m Going Home, it is also highlighted by Joy to the World, Together, and He’s Still on my Mind. There is an intentional dissonance to her music. It reminds me of another artist I reviewed about a year ago, Lily Seabird, who I instantly fell in love with (she ended up being one of my top 5 artists on Spotify). Ramone has that same brilliance in her music. The two artists even coincidentally resemble one another, as it would so happen.

Where Ramone differs with Lykki Li, Lily Seabird, and even Cassie Ramone circa 2014-2015, is she is much more rock. Full band, driving music, and open levels across the board. There is also a dash of different varieties of music within the album. There are sprinkles of vintage and current pop, vintage rock, folk, and even some prog rock phrases with some of the progressions. It’s still a stripped album, it’s just features more instrumentation.

I also want to tip the hat to the production of this album. Ramone, along with Dylan White, produced the record in a way that allowed the vocals and the accompaniment to be the real story. It’s as if they let the performances tell the main story and they just added reverb to that product. There aren’t very many plug-ins at all. I appreciate the recognition that they heard something special in this record and they trusted their audience to hear that special element of it as well. Their faith paid off with a perfectly capable album.

~ Cassie Ramone Today ~

It’s been a little more than a year since the release of Sweetheart. Following its release, Ramone has been touring the album. On March 27th, she is playing with Suzie True and Desert Mambas in Los Angeles at Permanent Records Roadhouse. She also just wrapped a European leg of her tour in November that had her playing shows in different parts of the UK and Spain. There are more tour dates to come, so be sure to check out her tour schedule which can be found on Spotify and on her website.

” Dylan once said that describing music is like trying to tell someone about the dream you had last night. I agree. So I’ll just say about SWEETHEART: it’s a Cassie Ramone version of a pop album inspired by pop music, both past and present.” ~ Cassie Ramone

Ramone’s entire collection can be found on bandcamp and wherever you stream music. In addition to streaming and download options, physical media, merchandise, and more can be found at the store on her website, and at bandcamp.

There is also a Sweetheart music video available to stream on YouTube. Not for the song, but for the entire album! You can watch it right below.

~ Final Thoughts ~

In the past, I’ve been focused on “relevance,” as if time has anything to do with what is truly relevant. Those who focus on the business of the music industry might hold to that standard, but if our focus is to truly be about music and the artists that produce it, we have to look far beyond industry standards. I listen to a lot of music. There are a great deal of songs that have come out this year, that I may end up only listening to once in my entire life, that I don’t even remember listening to. Just in the span of these two and a half months. Yet, I also remember where I was and what I was doing the day I heard OK Computer for the first time, and that was nearly 30 years ago.

No, time doesn’t make art relevant. It’s not easy to produce something memorable. So, when we do, it is important that those moments are celebrated, no matter when they come up. Before February 2026, I’d never heard the name Cassie Ramone, but that’s forever changed now. As, it’s only been a month and I’ve probably listened to Sweetheart maybe 20 times, I can tell you this: Cassie Ramone is a memorable artist and this is a memorable album.

Go press play.