Ever since their debut album, Feel Something, blew up in 2017, the massive surge of dedicated fans have held Southern California post-hardcore and emo band Movements to a high standard when it comes to follow-up material. As the group grows older, their music continues to grow with them, as made evident with their 2020 release No Good Left To Give, and now their third full-length album, RUCKUS! (Fearless Records). While the band is no longer the same sad boys they started out as, there are still pieces of their old selves mixed into their new, matured evolution, with RUCKUS! about to elicit a peculiar balance of dancing, moshing, and crying.
Movements have always nailed it when it comes to album openers, and ‘You’re One Of Us Now’ is no exception. As someone who has been an avid listener since the pre-Outgrown Things era, I can confidently say this is one of my favorite Movements songs. It feels like their earlier years while also feeling fresh, kicking off the record with proof of how the band’s songwriting abilities are aging like fine wine.
A rowdy uproar of indecipherable chanting suddenly dropping into a stormy, pounding intro was the perfect way to start this album. Singer Patrick Miranda undoubtedly also makes his entrance count as he commands you to “take a seat” and “gather round”. The gritty, raw emotion he is loved for putting into every captivating melody is as present as ever through the track’s entirety. Him dropping down an octave for the soft final chorus is unexpected icing on already delectable ear candy, and continues to pleasantly surprise me.
‘Killing Time’ and ‘AMP’ are both driven by their funky, danceable grooves, with the former being more bass-focused and the latter composed of crispy-clear guitar chords; both of which stand-alone single ‘Cherry Thrill’ bridged the sonic transition for between albums, so as not to make this new style come out of nowhere. While my immediate instinct when seeking out Movements tunes is to go for the more emo-leaning tracks, it wouldn’t be fair to overlook the well-roundedness the band have proven to possess with songs such as these. The only track I find myself constantly skipping is ‘Heaven Sent’, a slew of sexual innuendos over a static, repeating chord progression – feels more like easy-listening background music than the moving charisma of the group that normally pulls you all the way in.
The turbulent dynamics of ‘Lead Pipe’ and ‘Fail You’ mix their newfound prancing rhythmic expertise with the grating emotion of their first albums, both wielding explosive choruses to satisfy the older fans’ post-hardcore itch. ‘I Hope You Choke’ falls into this category as well, throwing angry group shouts that are sure to rile up a “ruckus” when played live. ‘Dance With Death’ also shares a sense of familiarity, maintaining a fast tempo while dialing down to a more melancholic feel.
This leads into the soft, eerie closer ‘Coeur D’Alene’ with a shaky guitar line to back Miranda’s narration of times spent with a loved one, vowing to stay by their side. Lyrically, it feels like a continuation of slow ballad ‘Tightrope’ from earlier on the record – though, sonically, it’s more reminiscent of classics like ‘Losing Fight’ and ‘Submerge’, providing a thoroughly effective ending to RUCKUS!.
If one thing’s for sure, it’s that no band member outshines the others on this album. All four of the quartet’s artistic voices are loud and clear, yet each also knows when to dial it down. The amount of times I find myself “ooh-ing” and “ahh-ing” at each instrument made me realize how grateful I am that the four of them have all stuck together for as long as they have – each one of them has always had something special and unique about their playing styles, and when they put their creative quirks together, it always ends in such beautiful results that no one other than Movements could accomplish.
Buy the album here:
8 / 10
COLLEEN KANOWSKY