Movements has always been an honest band. Honest about who they are, transparent about their struggles with mental health, and open about the content of every song they’ve ever written. Their latest release Happier Now is no exception.
It’s rare for a band to leave such a lasting impression with their debut release like Movements did with Feel Something back in 2017. Even more rare is a band capable of living up to immense hype and pressure once it exists. Almost a full decade after their debut album, fans are saying that Movements’ fourth full-length album Happier Now has managed to surpass the standard they set so early on in their career.
The vulnerability of this record extends well beyond deeply personal lyrics, bursting through Patrick Miranda’s haunting vocal performance and persistent, melancholy guitar tones. Movements has managed to revive their classic post-hardcore sound, mixing it effortlessly with aspects of the newer emo-pop standard that has been taking over the scene. The mix makes for something catchy and impactful, embedding songs into fans’ heads effortlessly while also keeping the mood somber. This is a skill that Movements has had since the day they dropped their very first single way back in 2015. Lyrics from Happier Now reference and tie together experiences and narratives the band has been stringing together for the last decade.
It is evident that Movements’ goal is to consistently relate to those struggling with their mental health. While some fans feel it has the potential to become repetitive, I personally find it a source of comfort knowing these battles with anxiety and depression are not just fleeting blips in other people’s lives, and that if nothing else, the members of this band also deal with these difficulties steadily. In “Ill at Ease”, Patrick openly speculates that maybe being in a band and putting himself in front of crowds of people nightly is not what’s best for his mental health. In closing track “Separate”, he talks about wishing he could be somewhere else, expressing exhaustion from exposing so much of his own struggles to the world. While most of us can’t imagine the weight of sharing yourself with so many people, we can all remain grateful that this band has done so.
