Alex Orange Drink - Even Cowboys Get The Cancer (2025) Hi-Res

“Alex Orange Drink has released five albums in 2025, each tied to a stage of grief inspired by the Kübler-Ross model. Created while he was undergoing cancer treatment, the albums turn survival into sound — spanning genres from power pop (Future 86, Oct. 3) to anti-folk (Good Old Days, Oct. 24), punk/hardcore (A Plastic Bag, Nov. 21), and now country. His May release Victory Lap (#23) kicked off the series, representing denial. Even Cowboys Get The Cancer, which closes the series, represent acceptance.
In June 2023, following a sold-out show with The So So Glos at Bowery Ballroom, Alex Levine was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare and serious form of cancer affecting his salivary gland. Despite undergoing grueling chemotherapy and radiation treatments, he channeled his experience into music, writing and recording over 50 tracks. The first release from that collection of songs, Victory Lap (#23) was a reckoning that boldly turns the most dismal of moments into uplifting anthems by way of mosh pits and dance parties.

This series of albums follows Alex’s 2021 LP Everything Is Broken Maybe That’s OK and 2018 solo debut Babel On. Last year, he was featured as a guest vocalist on Bright Eyes’ song Rainbow Overpass and co-writer of seven songs on their new album Five Dice, All Threes. As co-founder of venues Market Hotel and Shea Stadium, Levine has been a key figure in New York City’s DIY scene for nearly two decades. A New York native of both Palestinian and Jewish descent, he has lived with homocystinuria, a genetic disorder that requires a strict diet and an orange-flavored daily medication, the source of his alias.”