Any amount of time spent inside the music industry will taint a band. No matter how sincere they might be, it’s hard not to become jaded when teenage dreams are gradually replaced by commercial considerations. However, Movements are a band who’ve bucked that trend; despite hanging together for a decade and weathering all sorts of storms, they’ve retained a youthful enthusiasm and childlike wonder which has given their sound an air of authenticity. Long player number four, Happier Now, is no exception and collects a dozen tracks that find the band at their most expressive, delivering a selection of songs that keep sincerity at their core.
Formed in 2015 and signed to Fearless Records after just one show, Movements star rose fairly quickly, the band setting an impossible standard with their first three albums scoring highly on all those aggregate websites. Opening shot ‘Pulse’ suggests Happier Now is going to be another winner, the band arriving in confident manner and dazzling the listener with a tentative riff and a neat turn of phrase. There has always been an exploratory nature to Movements’ modus operandi, not only in a sound that blends emo, post-hardcore, alt-rock and grunge, but lyrically too the band explore the big (and not so big) existential questions that life has to offer. It means tracks such as ‘Dissolve Me’ will sound equally enticing at a rowdy gig or during late night bedroom musings. It’s an approach that gives Movements an exorbitant amount of freedom; there’s a feeling that Happier Now is in a kind of perpetual motion, and just like the proverbial rolling stone, there’s no danger of things becoming stagnant.
Whilst several singles have been pulled from Happier Now it, nevertheless, has the feel of an old school album. It is perfectly feasible to dip in and out and enjoy the tracks individually, yet it’s the kind of record that invites a complete listen to appreciated it’s gentle ululation. There is an internal rhythm to this album that mirrors the push and pull of life, that circulant burst of manic energy replaced by a lull, only to come alive once again. It’s a rhythmic nature that puts Happier Now in sync with the listener’s physiology, artist and audience becoming one in a way that only occurs through music (and then only rarely).
A decade into their career, Movements are now influencing bands the way they were once inspired by others, and with Happier Now that influence is going to spread far and wide.
- Happier Now is released via Fearless Records on 4th September 2026.
Track List:
- Pulse
- Dissolve Me
- Everything Is Fine
- Happier Now
- Flowerbed
- Back In My Ways
- Spellbound
- Ill At Ease
- live By The Sword
- Everyone I’ve Ever Been
- Fragile Hands
- Separate
