Cavetown - Running With Scissors

Cavetown is a songwriter who started out making tender, bedroom-sized songs and somehow ended up becoming a generational constant. On 'Running With Scissors', his latest album, he sounds more curious and playful than ever, pushing his sound in a bunch of different directions and clearly having a great time doing it.

Early on, Cavetown signals that this is not a one-lane album. 'Cryptid' is immediately sonically interesting, leaning harder into rock textures than you might expect, with a strange, specific energy that almost flirts with nu metal. 'Rainbow Gal' keeps things bright and buoyant, before 'Baby Spoon' delivers one of the album's funniest moments: "I wanna be your baby spoon" is a genuinely silly lyric, delivered with such sincerity that it's charming.

If there's one track that feels like the album's big swing, it's 'NPC'. It's a proper highlight: dynamic, dramatic and catchy as fuck, building into something that feels epic without losing Cavetown's emotional warmth. 'Reaper' and 'Straight Through My Head (DO IT!!!)' keep the momentum up, while 'Tarmac' is pure fun, breezy and confident in a way that suits this louder, more outward-facing version of Cavetown.

Later on, 'Sailboat', featuring longtime pal Chloe Moriondo, leans into pop-punk territory, playful and melodic, while songs like 'No Bark No Bite' and 'Micah' pull things back just enough to keep the balance right. By the time the title-track arrives, the album feels like a scrapbook of moods and sounds, stitched together by his instinct for melody and honesty.

'Running With Scissors' is bursting with ideas and personality. It's an album that feels like someone following their curiosity wherever it leads, trusting that the fun will carry through.