Fun Times Good Vibes by Cayden Penner: Album Review

by admin July 25, 2025

July 25, 2025

Fun Times Good Vibes by Cayden Penner: Album Review

With his debut LP Fun Times Good Vibes, Cayden Penner is stepping onto the indie music scene. Released on July 1, 2025, the album splits itself neatly down the middle, with Side A (Fun Times) diving into Hip Hop and the ego-tripping chaos of control and power, and Side B (Good Vibes) flipping the script with R&B and reggae flavors that lean into healing, love, and second chances. It’s like taking a ride from a downtown party straight into a beach bonfire.

The opener, “Kb8,” sets the tone with a thick, sun-drenched guitar melody that makes you want to nod your head and forget your worries. Penner’s flow is chill but cheeky, dropping bars with the kind of looseness you hear when friends freestyle at a house party. The bridge comes with a singing session that sounds quite like the times when friends mock-sing at you or someone or something just for fun.

Then comes “Beachy,” which has already made waves as a semi-finalist in Nashville’s Unsigned Only contest. Here, Penner ramps up the pace, spitting lines over crisp beats and warm harmonies that make the track feel like sipping cocktails while solving life’s problems.

But it’s not all sunshine and easy breezes. “Sexualization” hits harder, a bold, catchy beat underlines explicitly sexual and objectifying lyrics. There’s even a melancholic piano thread running through it, which comes off weird at first, but I come to realize it is actually grounding the track with reflection. A second voice chimes in, adding depth with a verse about the mental fog and brain rot caused by overexposure to hypersexualized culture.

The final track, “Lessons Dawning,” takes a quieter route, with Penner unraveling his thoughts in one long, uninterrupted stream of consciousness. His pace is calm, as he unpacks the numbness that comes after slowly being depleted of life after facing systemic failure and personal disillusionment. It leaves you floating, not quite at peace, but not drowning either. Just thinking. And knowing.

Check out Fun Times Good Vibes on Spotify and see if you can find something to connect to.