To sharpen anticipation for the upcoming “Running With Scissors Tour,” Cavetown gifted fans a brand-new single last Friday. “Big Strong Man” turns the lens inward, exploring the tangled expectations of teenage masculinity, queer identity, and the experience of being loved for a version of yourself that never felt entirely true. In beloved Cavetown fashion, candor and striking honesty thread through every croon — the exact qualities listeners have held close for years. “Big Strong Man” continues deepening that familiar introspection, only this time the edges feel even more exposed.

Written from a similar snapshot in time as the adored “Boys Will Be Bugs,” the single that helped carry Cavetown into wider airplay, “Big Strong Man” reflects on adolescence and the pressure to stitch yourself into other people’s expectations, even when they never fit comfortably against your own skin. Robin Skinn has never been one to sugarcoat the uncertainty that accompanies identity, and “Big Strong Man” amplifies that honesty in a way that does not merely make listeners feel seen, but genuinely understood. Speaking on the single, Skinner shares:

“Big Strong Man – based on a similar time in my life as Boys Will Be Bugs – is about my struggles with the confusing world of teenage masculinity as a young queer person, and how it sucks to feel loved for a version of yourself that isn’t true.”

“Big Strong Man” arrives on the heels of Cavetown’s most recent album, Running With Scissors, which places Skinner’s signature blend of bedroom-pop intimacy, pop-punk vibrancy, and reflective songwriting beneath a brighter light without standing down the openness that defined Cavetown’s earlier work. The record features standout singles “Rainbow Gal,” “Baby Spoon,” “NPC,” and “Tarmac,” delivering another entry that settles naturally into the discography while still feeling deeply necessary. These are not songs created simply to decorate a tracklist; they feel like another collection of thoughts that needed somewhere safe to exist.

Next month, Cavetown will carry the music beyond the speakers, bringing “Big Strong Man” to life across a month-long North American stretch on the “Running With Scissors Tour.” Standing beside him, Chloe Moriondo will serenade crowds early in the evening, promising a night that celebrates individuality. Performances begin September 21 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, before winding through Detroit, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, and more. The run concludes on October 25 beneath the ornate ceilings of Brooklyn Paramount in New York City.

It has already been a seismic year for Cavetown, marked by milestones including a transcendent national television appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. The upcoming tour and brand-new single promise another meaningful stretch in a career that has become crucial for listeners trying to navigate identity within today’s fast-moving world of streaming. Cavetown’s music has never demanded that audiences arrive with themselves completely figured out; it simply offers somewhere to breathe while they try. For anyone who has never experienced that community live, there is no better time to become a part of the journey, cut loose from expectation, and exist exactly as you are.