“God I Wish I Was Happy” — Cavetown Ur Gonna Wish U Believed Me Track Review
UK-born, singer-songwriter Cavetown has just released his newest single, titled Ur Gonna Wish U Believed Me, from his upcoming EP, Man’s Best Friend. I have been looking forward to a new release from this artist since his last album, which was released just over a year ago. I found 2020’s Sleepyhead to be a great leap forward for Cavetown as an artist, so I’ve been excited to see where his next venture will take him. I hadn't expected to have new music already, but I’m definitely not complaining!
Ur Gonna Wish U Believed Me begins relatively simply, with just a strumming acoustic guitar, which gives the track an airy and dreamy quality. I might be reading too much into it, but right at the start, the guitar sounds almost exactly like the beginning to his breakout hit single, Lemon Boy, that really launched his career. It then transitions to be a more complex and distinct melody of its own. Perhaps this is an homage — he's referencing his roots, but showing that he has grown and changed just as this melody does. Although I might just be grasping for straws there, it is a neat idea to think about. Robbie then comes in with some simple, light vocals in the chorus. This song appears to cover some very heavy topics such as depression, suicide, and the challenging road to recovery from mental illness. This is displayed pretty plainly through many lines within the chorus, such as “The fraying threads of recovery, crushing me from above and underneath”. This shows the delicate nature of fighting with a mental illness and just how taxing it can be. Just about anything could send someone over the edge and unravel. The chorus is bookended by the titular phrase, “You're gonna wish you believed me”, which sends a chill down my spine. It seems as though this character is dealing with suicidal or self-harming thoughts which others around him have tended to brush off, even though he may one day follow through on his plans. It's a terrifying reality that someone may really be in need, and if we aren't present for them, it could lead to the worst.
We then are swept away into a short instrumental break, adding even more instruments and complexity, and are brought into the first verse. I love the addition of some gentle piano melodies and the accompanying percussion that starts to join in. They help add the sleepy haze of the song, like being lost in your own head late at night. In this verse, Robin laments about how tiring dealing with mental illness can be. Sometimes even eating seems to take up more energy than you have — it’d be better to just not be hungry. He also talks about how nobody would really listen to him except for someone imaginary or maybe his cat. This reflects a harsh reality. Many people in this world don't understand what it is like to be a prisoner of your own mind. They can brush their loved ones’ feelings aside because they just don't get how this illness affects them. I even find myself thinking like this sometimes — it is difficult to comprehend if you’ve never experienced it. This can just strengthen the feelings of loneliness and feeling like a burden, inadvertently pushing the person deeper into their depression and perhaps over the edge.
After another chorus and instrumental break, the second verse begins, seeming to come down a bit in intensity from the chorus and instrumental break. Perhaps this is meant to mimic the ups and downs of starting medications and anti-depressants, which is a topic explored in this verse. Robbie also sings about having strong outbursts of emotion even though he may be on these anti-depressants. He expresses how his internal hurt boiled up to the surface and how he mistakenly took it out on someone, saying something he didn't actually mean. It can take a lot of strength to treat others kindly when you don't even give that privilege to yourself, so, understandably, outbursts like this can happen. Struggling with mental health takes an immense toll, and it is normal to be overwhelmed at times. This shows the effects of the still prevalent stigma that mental illness is a taboo subject and that people suffering from mental illness should “act normal”. They need time to stop pretending to be okay for everyone else's comfort, and that is fine. This verse ends with a line that is like a punch to the gut — “Colliding into the concrete”. This seems to be the protagonist's suicide occurring.
The penultimate chorus brings the energy level down one more step; it's almost pensive or reflective. The song then explodes into a synth-heavy, distorted instrumental mixed in with some light vocals from Cavetown. I love this drop as it feels like a culmination of emotion that has been building throughout the song has finally come to a head. This instrumental bridge then goes into one more, slightly distorted chorus before echoing the final words of “You’re gonna wish you believed me”. A truly tragic sentiment.
I was very pleasantly surprised with this track. It took a few listens before everything finally clicked for me, but overall, I very much enjoyed it. This song was full of a thick melancholy over dreamy, almost otherworldly, melodies and instrumentation that Cavetown does so well. This is the perfect type of song to be on a late-night playlist when you’re lying under the stars or on a middle-of-the-night drive. While it deals with the heavy and important subject matter, it never feels dragged down or sloppy in its execution. Its production and mix keep it airy and serene all while painting this tragic picture. It is a reminder that we should all make sure to take our mental health seriously and those close to us.
This track shows great maturity in Cavetown that I’m hoping to see get explored further in Man’s Best Friend, out on June 4th.
Written by Griffin L. & Published in The Self Hack | If you enjoy content like this, check out my other Album & Artist reviews like Tyler, The Creator’s Wolf, or BROCKHAMPTON’S ROADRUNNER: New Light, New Machine. | Find me on Twitter: GManMusic
