If you're like me (and to a certain extent, you should be glad that you're not), you're invested in all of the bands that fall under the "emo" umbrella. Even as the genre has bled into other forms of mainstream pop music--for better or for worse--it's important to know what's happening with the genre. When art is made that taps into our most raw and intimate emotions, there's always going to be a wealth of artists who are making that art. In this way, there seems to always be a song or an album that finds a new way to talk about the same heartache we've felt. In 2017, Movements was that band. They released Feel Something, their debut full-length album that somehow felt like it was a decade in the making. Wise beyond their years, the Orange County, CA group never felt like they fit perfectly into the pop-punk category, and didn't scream nearly enough to get the post-hardcore label either. Nothing quite fit their heartfelt, aching songs quite like the tag "emo" did, and the band wore it well.
After Feel Something was released, the band were highly sought after as support for tours, while also taking the time to headline a few intense shows themselves. Among the headliners who took notice of the band's fast-rising star were The Wonder Years, Senses Fail, Mayday Parade, and perhaps the band their sound and star power at such a young aged matched: The Story So Far. The band also made the ever-impressive jump from the side stage to a Main Stage of Warped Tour, as they drew some of the most passionate crowds of the tour's final cross-country summer trek. As they continued to tour heavily throughout 2018 and 2019, it wouldn't have been hyperbole to say that no band's next album was more hyped than the sophomore effort from Movements.
And then, in 2020, the funniest thing happened. Just as the band prepared to release their second album, with a small batch of headlining shows and a headlining set at the Sad Summer Festival looming, COVID-19 put a dead halt on all of those plans. No Good Left to Give was still released on September 18, and was a bit of a departure from what the band had become known for sonically. This shift in sound, coupled with the album's lyrical matter being perhaps some of Patrick Miranda's most morose, proved to be a difficult concoction to connect with fans in the same way that Feel Something seemed to (though I'd contend their sophomore effort is perhaps better than its predecessor in some aspects).
If the band had any frustrations over what some mistekenly called a "sophomore slump," they never showed it. The band worked throughout the pandemic on all things regarding their craft, putting out a couple of livestreams, continuing their tradition of excellent merch drops, and releasing a few singles (including a really fun cover of Bloc Party's "Banquet," recording during a live stream at Studio 4) on their way back to the road. From there, the band's crowds remained intense as ever, belting out songs like "Suffer Through" and "Daylily" with all of the energy they could muster. Then, this year, things started to get really interesting for the band. In debuting two songs from their third full-length album RUCKUS!, which released this past August, Movements made a few things abundantly clear: first, that the shift if sound on No Good wasn't a fluke, and that fans could count on the band changing things up with each release; and second, that Movements was talented enough to pull off any damn sound they please.
RUCKUS! takes an interesting place in Movements's discography, as the songs gain a further intensity and impact when they're performed live. Even the album's "slower" songs like "Heaven Sent" and "Tightrope" took on new energies, with guitarist Ira George playing on a keyboard for both, adding a new flair to the band's repertoire. Still, it's the band's fast-paced songs that mostly brought the ruckus (Sorry, I had to), and when the band's headlining run came to Philadelphia, they weren't the only band bringing it.
Up first was Heart to Gold, a self-described "small band from Minneapolis, Min
nesota." While they were the first band of four to play that night, the three-piece rock outfit was also the smallest band by number of members as well. Despite all of this, they performed like a band well beyond their modest self-image, filling the Fillmore Philadelphia with alt-rock-tinged emo that felt reminiscent of bands like Tiny Moving Parts or Microwave. While all three members brought a distinct talent to their instruments, it was the band's vocalist/guitarist Grant Whiteoak was the standout, with his bellowing vocals powering the band's set.
Up next was a band that I immediately identified as a band I'll be listening to for a long time. While I didn't get to see or hear their first band Courage, My Love, I won't be making that mistake for Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn's new band softcult. As the band took the stage by storm with their punch-up punk anthem "BWBB," their blend of shoegaze, post-rock, and grunge was a perfect way to mix things up after Heart to Gold, and allowed the band to stand out and earn some great pops from the crowd who seemed unfamiliar with their songs. Of the two sisters who make up the band's official members, Mercedes did most of the talking in between songs, and felt very comfortable discussing some of the political ideation behind some of their songs. Phoenix added vocals alongside the touring guitarist Brent McSwiggan and bassist Phil Hirst. As the band continually thrashed across the stage, the energy both on stage and in front of it seemed to build with each track, culminating in a breathtaking finale as the band played "Uzumaki." As the wall of sound dissipated, it was clear the young band (formed in 2020) was already building something special with their sound.
From softcult's brooding shoegaze, the show segued into the return of a hometown hero. The Philadelphia crowd had trudged through a tropical storm in time for their most recent punk rock sensation, as Mannequin Pussy erupted with a ferocity that very few other bands possess. Frontperson Missy Dabice was her own tour de force, evoking the kind of energy you'd expect to see from Hayley Williams at a Paramore show. Dabice is clearly fit for the spotlight, but the rest of the band are just as worthy too. Bassist "Bear" Regisford brought a great energy himself, especially when he took over lead vocals for the band's set-closing track "Pigs is Pigs." New guitarist Maxine Steen also added some flair with her flying V guitar (pound-for-pound the coolest guitar in the game), and drummer Kaleen Redding showed some serious skill as she effortlessly blended different styles in each of the band's eclectic sounds. In addition to their set having that homecoming energy amongst the crowd, they also had a few surprises: their set included two new songs (one of them being the recently-released "I Got Heaven") from a new album that the band announced would be released in March of 2024. That's a longer wait than some would have wanted, but the morsels we got, and the rest of the band's set for that matter, indicate that this is a band firing on all cylinders right now.
In addition to being perhaps the band's most complete album front-to-back RUCKUS! begins with a song that perfectly opens up a Movements set. Featuring a gang chant that echoes "Follow the sound, you just have to trust it./Join in the crowd, join in the RUCKUS!", "You're One of Us Now" is a scorched-earth statement that Movements have never sounded better. That feels especially important since the band announced that their set at the Fillmore was being recorded for a live album, which Miranda announced to the crowd early in their set. The crowd responded perfectly, adding loud and proud vocals each time Miranda pointed the microphone in their direction. The setlist focused heavily on the live debuts of many Ruckus! tracks, allowing the band to utilize all of its members. Bassist Austin Cressey does an excellent job pacing tracks like "Lead Pipe" and "Killing Time," while drummer Spencer York continues to prove himself as one of the scene's finest drummers. Miranda appears a bit more mobile onstage as well, opting to bound around the stage instead of his signature statuesque stature fans have grown accustomed to. Miranda and the rest of the band's onstage moods don't ever reflect the melancholy in their lyrics, as each of them are often looking out to the crowd with a smile while they play. The crowd's mood seemed to be lifted to even greated heights with each surprise they pulled out as well. In addition to recording the set for a live album, the band also announced that they'd be raffling off a guitar that's been used on each Movements release, which was being housed within emo super-producer Will Yip's studio. Shortly after that, they announced they'd be playing the Feel Something track "Fever Dream" fully acoustic, something they'd almost never done before.
By the time Movements's set had reached its end, there was very little left for them to do to prove that their new direction in sound was yet another improvement. In addition to their own sound, however, the band also carefully curated an evening of great music from start to finish, which featured opening bands that covered a broad spectrum of emo's subgenres. It's likely that this is the only chance fans will get to see Heart to Gold, softcult, and Mannequin Pussy on the same bill, and Movements's are one of the few bands out there who would be able to get all of them together and make it make sense. It's an important accomplishment for Movements. Ever since Feel Something came out, the expectation of the band to be in an endless pursuit of the Part 2 of that album has existed. All the band has ever done is subvert those expectations, and that's never paid bigger dividends than it has on RUCKUS! The debate over which of the band's albums is best will likely rage on, but the diverse pool of sounds Movements have begun to swim in have proven that they are not just a band that can pull heartstrings, but they're also an immensely talented group. As the stage lights turned pink in preparation for Emo Hall Of Fame track "Daylily" to close out the night, the crowd mustered what was left of their voices to drown out Miranda's microphone completely. On a night when a tropical storm passed through the city of Philadelphia, bringing constant rain and cracks of thunder, the loudest roars from the city were from those lucky enough to join in the ruckus.
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