A friend of mine first introduced me to Cavetown. She had been pressuring me for a few days to listen to this song called “Lemon Boy” and after finally sitting down to listen to it, I immediately found my new favorite musician.
Cavetown is the stage name for nineteen-year-old Robin, a singer-songwriter based in Oxford, England. Robin is an incredibly talented musician whose music consists of introspective but somewhat whimsical lyrics. Along with having six full albums of original music, he also has a pretty successful YouTube channel where he covers songs by musicians that have inspired his work such as Twenty One Pilots and Peach Pit, both of which are also favorites of mine.
The whole concept of this album interests me because it breaks up ten songs into five smaller albums. Each album has one song by Cavetown along with a song that he’s collaborated on with other artists. Each character that featured on the album cover also has a backstory as to how they came to the Animal Kingdom.
The two songs in Sandy are a great start to Animal Kingdom for setting the tone. “Juliet” was done entirely by Robin, and “Lullaby” was the product of a collaboration with Simi, another indie singer-songwriter that started her career on YouTube. They’re both really pretty songs with sweet lyrics and cute imagery. The album feels super chill and mellow. Robin and Simi both have very soothing voices that just let you forget everything stressful in your life for a few minutes.
Comet is the second part of Animal Kingdom and has my favorite song, “Boys Will Be Bugs.” This actually may be my all time favorite song of theirs. It’s just so cheery and upbeat that you can’t help but listen to it on repeat continuously. The other song on the album is “Waves” by indie pop musician chloe moriondo. It’s short and sweet, but too sad to fit in with the mood in my opinion. It’s a good song, but I just don’t like it coming after “Boys Will Be Bugs” and giving me depressed vibes. I would definitely recommend listening to “Boys Will Be Bugs” even if you’re not interested in listening to the rest of the album.
The third part of the Animal Kingdom album, Ash, is a collaboration between Cavetown and spookyghostboy. Ash is probably the most chill of all the albums. Both songs on it, “Advice” and “Noise in My Head,” are songs that you can just zone out to.
Next in the album is Shells which includes the songs “Self-Control” and “Hh.” My favorite song between the two would no doubt be “Hh” by Mario Gulf. It has a very relaxed, carefree feeling to it. “Self-Control” is also pretty good and has the same relaxed vibe as several of the other songs on the album.
Jackson, the finale to Animal Kingdom, includes “Hug All Ur Friends” and “Somebody’s Baby.” Though I was sad to see the album end, I thought Jackson was an excellent finish. “Hug All Ur Friends” filled me with such a content, serene feeling. It put me in one of those moods where you’re so happy you feel like sobbing. Sidney Gish’s “Somebody’s Baby” is also really nice. It’s a cover of Jackson Browne’s classic song which was originally recorded to be for the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack.
I would highly recommend if you’re into vinyl checking out Cavetown’s website. They currently have a bundle that includes the vinyl, the digital download of the album, a t-shirt, and a set of magnets. There are also a set of 24 stickers included in the album and a gatefold jacket. Another motivator for buying the Animal Kingdom album besides the beautiful art and totally rad music is that a portion of the proceeds go to PSPCA, the Pennsylvanian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. So besides getting a bunch of cool merch, the vinyl, and the digital album, you are also giving to a great cause.
If you like musicians like Conan Gray, Rex Orange County, or Billie Eilish,then I would highly recommend you listen to Cavetown. Their music fills me with such a genuine feeling of happiness that is rare to find. Animal Kingdom was really impressive, and I loved that they collaborated with several other artists that after listening to the album I definitely want to check out. I have such high praise for Cavetown’s most recent music and I look forward to whatever they’re coming out with next. According to their twitter, there’s already a new album in the works with two songs ready.
Oh my god thank you so much for this review it was the only one i could find online and i needed it for a school project and i needed a fully fledged professional review, you’re a wonderful person and thank you.