Ryan Beatty, Casino | Track Review 🎵

Underrated pop artist Ryan Beatty shines once more on “Casino,” an advance single from his sophomore album, Dreaming of David. 

“Come around like the moon, sun / Most of the time you’re on my mind.” Ryan Beatty writes amazing songs about boys, period.  Boy in Jeans was among my favorite albums of 2018, even though it didn’t get the attention it deserved.  Perhaps his sophomore album, Dreaming of David, will give the openly gay pop artist the recognition he deserves.  In the meantime, Beatty releases another single, “Casino,” in advance of the project. 

“Casino” runs on the longer side for a pop single, north of four minutes. That’s no big deal though, considering the quality of the record.  In addition to Beatty’s writing himself, “Casino” is co-written and co-produced by Austin Anderson, Daniel Fox, and Happy Perez.  Safe to say, they do a great job.  The production is a contrast from previous songs from the artist, opting for accompaniment from rhythmic acoustic guitars.  Ultimately, it’s a nice change of pace.

As always, Ryan Beatty shines vocally.  He sounds quite expressive, with lovely falsetto exhibited on the pre-chorus (“Hood on, hand in my pocket, walk away”).  Besides awesome lead vocals, there are also some gorgeous vocal harmonies on the pre-chorus as well as on the bridge section, where the opening quote of this review hails from.  While the pre-chorus is characterized by falsetto, Beatty switches to full-fledged, dynamic chest voice on the memorable, repetitive chorus: “Love me to death or don’t give me anything / Oh yeah, oh yeah.”

Throughout, “Casino” features a number of interesting lyrics that find Beatty reflecting on love.  On the first verse, he sings, “The oxygen was choking like death grips around me / I even thought I couldn’t be sadder than that, I am.” Later, he’s perturbed about his lover’s song being played.  Despite the misfortune, he asserts, “I sing along and laugh just in case of the opposite…/Everything was blurry so I couldn’t see, thankfully…”

Final Thoughts 

Wondering if you should ‘gamble’ on “Casino?” Well, the answer is a resounding YES in my humble opinion.  As aforementioned, Ryan Beatty writes amazing songs about boys.  Regardless of your sexual orientation, you should appreciate that.  Furthermore, he has a great voice – a falsetto to swoon over! Stylistically, Beatty is somewhere between pop and R&B, so there’s a broad appeal.  What I’m saying is, Beatty is the shit, and so is “Casino.”

Ryan Beatty • Dreaming of David • Mad Love / Interscope • Release: 1.17.20

Photo Credits: Mad Love / Interscope