Movements Deliver One Of Their Best Albums Yet With ‘Happier Now’

There is always going to be one album hanging over every new Movements record. Feel Something has become such an important part of the band’s catalogue that anything they release inevitably ends up being compared to it. Happier Now probably isn’t the record that finally knocks it off the top spot, but it gets remarkably close.

This is an absolutely sensational album. More importantly, it feels like Movements completely understand what makes them such a compelling band again. There are pieces of everything they have explored over the years here, from the emotional weight of their earlier material to the bigger alternative rock ideas that became increasingly prominent on RUCKUS!. Rather than choosing between those versions of themselves, Happier Now finds a convincing place for both.

Patrick Miranda is particularly brilliant throughout. His vocals have always been central to Movements, but there is something mesmerising about his performance here. He can sound vulnerable without the songs becoming fragile, then push into something considerably more forceful when the record needs it. That contrast is a huge part of why Happier Now works as well as it does.

The songwriting around him is equally strong. “Dissolve Me” is an immediate highlight, while “Live By The Sword” and “Ill At Ease” show just how naturally Movements can shift the weight of a song without losing the atmosphere surrounding the record. “Everyone I’ve Ever Been” is another standout, but picking favourites almost feels beside the point. This is an album that benefits enormously from being played from beginning to end.

Genuinely, where are the skips? That might sound like an easy bit of praise, but it is probably Happier Now’s greatest strength. There are songs you will naturally return to more than others, yet there is nothing here that makes you reach for the skip button. The pacing is excellent, the heavier moments arrive exactly when they need to and the quieter sections give the record enough room to breathe. It feels deliberately constructed as an album rather than a handful of singles surrounded by lesser material.

If there is a reservation, it is that Happier Now does not quite have the same lightning in a bottle quality that made Feel Something so special. There are moments where Movements are working within territory we already know they are exceptionally good at rather than pushing somewhere completely unexpected. But when the songs are this strong, familiarity is hardly a serious complaint.

What makes Happier Now so impressive is how effortless it all feels. Nothing seems forced in an attempt to recreate the past, nor does the band abandon what worked about their more recent experimentation. It simply sounds like Movements taking everything they have learned and making one of the most complete records of their career.

Feel Something remains the benchmark, but the gap is much smaller than it was before. Happier Now is infectious, beautifully put together and ridiculously easy to return to. This is the sort of record you buy on vinyl, keep permanently on display and then actually take down constantly because you want to play it..