Review Summary: Realism personified
Movements is a band who hit the ground running. After one performance, Fearless Records boldly signed the group to a 3 year deal. In 2016, Movements released their first EP
Outgrown Things to critical acclaim. What followed was a spot on the 2017 Vans Warped Tour before returning to the studio for their biggest challenge: a full length LP. For a band as fortunate as Movements, they didn’t take the opportunity for granted. Produced by Will Yip,
Feel Something was dropped to unanimous acclaim and quickly put Movements on the map.
Feel Something is an emotional rollercoaster and tackles themes such as mental illness, self-awareness, and recovery in the span of 11 tracks and 43 minutes. Through it all,
Feel Something remains streamlined start to finish and delivers more than most would expect.
Feel Something is better than it has any right to be. Being slapped with the emo/post-hardcore label, the album really doesn’t feel like one. The texture is more slow and somber than anything released currently. Of course,
Feel is produced like so, but the record mostly focuses on a singular guitar while the vocalist relays our exposition. The music is very subtle and simplistic, albeit creatively rather than lazy. Movements isn’t trying to be pretentious in their first outing and portrays a stick-to-your-guns type deal and remain consistent. Movements puts a twist on the common emo formula by injecting a healthy dose of indie into the mix. Songs like ‘Daylily’ display this with a cleanly reverberated intro before exploding into the chorus. It’s a very interesting style to help them stand out. Fuzzy indie guitars transform into loud crunchy machines in a matter of seconds, but the transition is smooth to the point no one would notice.
One of the best things about
Feel Something is how realistic the album is. The lyrics and style reflect a grounded approach to its themes and stories in an emotional way. Patrick Miranda, Movements vocalist, further demonstrates this through his usage of spoken word. This takes place during the more intense songs on
Feel Something. In the song ‘Colorblind,’ Miranda belts out: “And this complacency just seems to get the best of me. As I wander aimlessly back to everything I left behind. A new face, a different story, the same mess of me; and I never learn my lesson 'cause I'm blind,” in the poetic style. The lyrical simplicity shines in the lines, “See, that's the funny thing about love: it's never been a friend to me, just an artificial enemy,” which relay ‘Colorblind’s’ themes of relationships.
“This is the story of a man that I know -- a man with a heart of gold,” enters ‘Deadly Dull,’ one of
Feel Something’s talking points. The brutally emotional song deals with Miranda’s real-life experiences with an Alzheimer’s patient. The lyrics narrate how both he and the patient cope with the disease. The moody lead slides around the neck with, “He knows my face but he doesn't know me. Pretends he does every time we meet,” playing on top. ‘Deadly Dull’ is a tragic song and the hardest listen of the 11 others. It’s beautifully detailed account of the subject climax with, “What's it like to be erased every time you fall asleep; waking up as a clean slate without a sense of reality? And will I end up the same way when I grow old and turn to grey? As time leaves me behind to fade away, away.” ‘Deadly Dull’ is a song I find myself constantly revisiting when listening to the album. It’s powerful and gripping tale, although horrendous, perfectly relays the theme of
Feel Something.
‘Daylily’ juxtaposes the sadness with a brighter message about recovery. Miranda’s girlfriend suffers from depression and ‘Daylily’ showcases one of her “pink cloud days,” a term used to describe an extreme state of euphoria. ‘Daylily’ leans more to the indie side of the record, but its positivity requires a more subtle landscape and carries the song well. It’s not overbearing or cheesy in its message. It knows there’s a long road to recovery, but focuses on what they can do today. It’s a heartwarming tale sure to relieve the sadness from its predecessors.
Feel Something is organized well for a debut album. The transitions are clean, the material is spread out, and nothing eats up space or pads the run time. Everything works great as a unit and carries listeners through each stage of the process. There are a few songs though, like ‘Fever Dream’ that may be a bit barebones, but it’s a good song nonetheless. The bright acoustic feel clashes with the opaque lyrics in a good way.
Given its flaws, my score doesn’t change for
Feel Something. It’s realistic, unique, and powerful narrative meets my standards fully. There’s no such thing as a flawless album, but for the genre it’s in and the time of its release,
Feel Something is an achievement for the group. It’s not trying to be something it’s not or flaunt a certain quality.
Feel Something shows people longing to do just that: feel something. We have characters who forgot what it’s like to feel, looking for a reason to feel, and wanting to feel again. It’s a shining example of realistic grief: something that is seldom realized in most albums. It’s simple and effective vibe aids in the visualization of the bleak reality the songs live in. Listeners can emote with the vocalist as we hear songs like ‘Full Circle.’
Feel Something is an album I’d highly recommend to fans of all kinds. Modern alternative fans might be a bit harder since the sound might be dated to them, but I would still make the effort.
I’d also recommend it to fans looking for genuine music especially. If they want a more realistic element to explore or a deep story, this is the album for them. The album would be a good one for indie fans looking to broaden their taste. Even though the production is a bit tight for most indie fans, it could still work.
Feel Something earned its spot on my best of 2017 list a long time ago and hope to publish that list sometime this weekend. I can’t wait to see Movements on this years Warped Tour and hope to catch some of these songs live. Until then, take the time to appreciate the record for doing something so often forgot in today’s scene: actually trying to be genuine.
Standout Tracks
(Everything really)
Full Circle
The Grey
Daylily
Colorblind
Deadly Dull
Deep Red
