Three years on from their debut album, and Californian post-hardcore band Movements are back with its Will Yip-produced follow-up, ‘No Good Left To Give’. “At its core,” says vocalist Patrick Miranda, “the new record is what we’ve always been, which is emotional, real, and honest music.” Not ones to shy away from tough subjects, it sees them open up about some of life’s many struggles, such as mental health and relationships difficulties. “It’s a little darker,” he adds.
Hi Pat, how’s it going? Have you guys been enjoying summer so far?
So far I’m doing pretty well, all things considered! Been a weird summer for sure, but I’m making the best of it.
Your new album’s really heavy, talking about suicide, loss, fear and the like – are all these narratives drawn directly from your own lives?
Yes. As the sole lyrical writer for this band, every song focuses on an aspect of my life based on personal experiences, thoughts, emotions, etc.
Are you more adept at communicating tricky subjects like mental health now the band’s a few years in, do you think?
Very much so. I never pictured myself or my band becoming activists for mental health awareness, so it was a difficult role to adjust to at first. As time has gone on, if grown much more comfortable speaking on the subject!
Did putting together ‘No Good Left To Give’ uncover any personal revelations for you?
I think every time we write an album, I learn more about myself. Sometimes I listen back and think, “damn, I forgot I wrote that… This shit is kinda depressing”, and I realise all over again how much I actually pour into the songs we write.
Is there anything on the record that feels more pertinent now we’re in the middle of a pandemic?
Not necessarily! Maybe just the themes of physical intimacy that are explored in this album. It’s pretty hard to connect to others physically when you’re all six feet apart!
Has lockdown impacted its creation at all, or was it all done beforehand? What was the timeline like?
The album itself was finished when lockdown started, but the pandemic has certainly affected the release. We would have been shooting music videos, touring on the album, etc. but since the whole world shut down, we had to push much of our plans back.
What were your main aims for this record when you first started work on it? Did they come to pass?
I think we just went into this record with the goal of making a collection of songs we were more proud of than anything we’ve written so far. We all feel confident in the fact that we accomplished that goal.
Do you think album three will be darker still? Where will you go from here?
I have no idea! Whenever we finish a new album, it’s so hard for me to even begin to think about the next one because I feel like I don’t have much else to write about in my current state of life. We’ll just have to see what happens over the next couple of years!
Is not being able to tour going to postpone the release of new material, do you think?
Unfortunately, it already has. It is currently August as I write this, and our album still is not out, but should have been out months ago.
What does your day-to-day look like at the moment?
I’ve been travelling and camping during my time in quarantine! My partner and I decided to take some time to see parts of the country we don’t usually get to see. I’m currently in a rural part of Montana visiting lakes and national forests in order to keep away from large groups of people and just reconnect with nature. I’ve found this makes being alone feel less lonely!
How about the rest of the year?
Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst! At this point, I really don’t know what is going to happen. Time will tell.
Taken from the September issue of Upset. Movements’ album ‘No Good Left To Give’ is out 18th September.
