Album Review: “Running with Scissors” by Cavetown
by Rowyn Belt
Cavetown’s latest album, Running With Scissors, is a complete diversion from his past work. Moving away from the ukulele, he uses more hyperpop instrumentation with intense synths and grittier guitars. This whole album, though a huge change, is incredible. As Cavetown moves forward with his career, he moves his music through boundaries and creates something that cuts deep and keeps us listening.
This isn’t the first genre change Cavetown has undergone. From some of the early releases like Self-Titled and 16/04/16 to Sweet Tooth and Lemon Boy, a more folksy, raw sound is discovered. With time, he has circled back around to heavily-produced, synth-filled songs that are full of motion and noise, really allowing him to stretch the limits of his music.
The album has many standouts, like the opening tune, Skip. This song is all about the “butterflies” felt with the starts of love, keeping the album lighthearted to start. It’s simple and beautiful, and doesn’t stray too far from the vibe of prior Cavetown releases. It allows fans to absorb a familiar feeling within the music, but remains unique enough to still be interesting. Though it doesn’t have much lyric variation, it’s still a very enjoyable song and definitely the perfect opening track.
Heavily-alluded-to, rage-filled Cryptid, is the second song on the LP, opening with a direct transition from Skip. Lyrics like, “I’m livid dude, I’m not calling you back,” and, “Grow up, eat your veggies, go to therapy,” bring a slightly more childish feel to the tune. This has stark contrast with the later line, “I'm not opposed to exposing a bigot; Give me your phone, I already know I'm in your history. Little d—, hypocrite, talk about a felony,” which invokes a more serious, rageful conversation.
Another one of the standout tracks is the final single released before the official album date, Sailboat with long-time friend Chloe Moriondo. From start to end, this song is drenched in hyperpop and I can’t get enough of it. The last time these two incredible artists released a song together was in 2022, with grey space in Cavetown’s album worm food. However, since then the two musicians have gone through branding and life changes, allowing their music to flourish with them. They came back on fire with a song that reflects their own growth, and it was truly a stellar release to leave us with before the album came out.
This release, though different, is definitely one of my favorites from Cavetown. There is not one skippable track on the album, providing new stories and emotions with each song. Everything about this new style is stellar, and I’m excited to keep hearing more from Cavetown as he continues to write, produce and release music.
