Last week our own Mikey Jablonski sat down in front of his computer and had a fantastic chat with Patrick Miranda, the frontman of alternative rock/emo band Movements over a Zoom call. Patrick and Mikey went into more detail about the band’s forthcoming second album, No Good Left To Give, the album’s differences to their first album, the band’s future, and much more.
How would you describe your music for anybody who may have never heard of you guys before?
Patrick: I consider our band to be Alternative Rock. I think everybody has their own definition of what Movements is. A lot of people categorize us as Emo, Pop Punk. We are not a Pop Punk band. I don’t agree with that categorization. But I also understand that for many people that Pop Punk isn’t necessarily a definition of sound. It’s more so a definition of the community in which we tour in and are a part of. As a whole, I consider us Emo, Alternative Rock.
I know you guys are planning on releasing your second album No Good Left To Give on September 18th. How do you guys think about this record compared to Feel Something? What did you do differently from the last one?
Patrick: I think that there is some significant differences in this album. Namely, the overall maturity of our sound has progressed so much more. The depth and the music as a whole to me is so much richer on this album. This album we really solidified our place in the world as musicians, songwriters, and how we write. I just think these songs are so much better than any of our songs we’ve ever written in the past. I think it’s a good start to a new era for us in being a more well-rounded band as a whole. As well as a band hopefully we are taken seriously and not just taken, quote on quote, Pop Punk. But more of a mainstream alternative rock realm. Hopefully getting to go to bigger festivals and radio play. At its core, it’s still Movements, but it’s just progression.
How was the writing process for the new album?
Patrick: It was a lot faster than Feel Something. We wrote Feel Something for like over a year, almost a year and a half. On this album, we wrote maybe like 6 to 8 months, somewhere in there. We tried some new things too. Before we went into the studio to actually record the full album I went out to the studio by myself to hang out with our producer Will [Yip] for like a weekend. We basically ended up writing six songs in that weekend while we were there. That was really cool cause it gave us so much to work with. So much depth to play around with where we didn’t have before with Feel Something because we didn’t have the time with Will that we got on this album. But overall the writing process was easier this time around.
I know most bands have a musical direction they want an album to take. Did you think that you got what you wanted with this record with the performance?
Patrick: Yeah. I think that this record kind of encapsulates exactly what we wanted to accomplish. Which was to show a progression to our sound and to show that. We are not the band that always puts out the same record every time. Were always going to be a band that grows and changes, it still keeps what makes our band, our band, and what makes us special. But were always going to try and progress because we don’t believe in writing the music that the fans want to hear just because that’s what they want. We believe in what we want to write and hoping our fans grow and change with us ’cause our tastes have changed. We wouldn’t write the type of music off of Feel Something these days cause that’s just not who we are anymore. When we write the next album it will be different than this album.
What were the most challenging things to write for this time around?
Patrick: I don’t know. There were certain subjects on this album that was new territory for me. Like finding the right way to speak about them was a little bit of a challenge. There was a couple of songs on the album where although I am singing lyrics that have like “I” or “me,” I’m not necessarily talking about myself. There are some songs I’m singing about the perspective of somebody else. Somebody in my life I’m close with. I’m kind of telling a story based on their experiences and their perspective. That was something I never tried before. That was definitely new to me. I think I was doing it justice and doing it well.
I saw you guys have a range of influences of artists including Title Fight, Oceana, Thrice, and probably many more. Do you think any of those influences shined some light into the new record?
Patrick: I think that they always will. Those are definitely some of our core influences that will always be prevalent in our music. I mean Title Fight is my favourite band of all time, Thrice is up there. Those are some of the things we will always have. I don’t necessarily know that you will be able to hear those influences in the music. If you can, great. But I think as a whole those are just more inspirations and influences that shaped our musical tastes.
I know you guys just recently released “Skin To Skin.” How has the reception been from the fans with the new music?
Patrick: Yeah. For the most part, it’s been pretty good. There have been mixed reviews for sure. I’ve seen people not like it. I’ve seen people who are fans of this band say things like, “I don’t like this,” “It’s too different.” I’ve heard people say, “It’s too similar.” I’ve heard it all honestly. Truthfully, I don’t care if people don’t like it. It’s my hope that our fans will continue to grow with us and you know this isn’t what they are looking for right now. I know that I have in the past I’ve been a fan of certain bands when they put out a new record, I don’t necessarily like it at first but then it grows on me over time. But then it grows into more of my favourite records. I hope that this happens with this album that don’t maybe like it that way. But at the same time, I’ve seen people who are really excited about it and are into the new sound. But as a whole, I’ve seen more positive comments than I have seen negative.
What are your favourite new tracks off the new record?
Patrick: My favourite song actually is “Skin To Skin.” But I have multiple favourites. Probably my next favourite would have to be the final song on the album, it’s called, “Love Took The Last of It.” It has an interlude before it that kind of like ties into that song. But those two as a whole I like the transition between them, I like the vibe that they put out.
‘Cause we live in these COVID-19 times, are you guys planning to do an online show on the release date for No Good Left To Give, or the near future at all?
Patrick: It's something we are talking about. We will do something fun on the day of the release, but I don’t think it will be a live stream show. We’ll get on and interact with people at the very least. We have talked about doing a live stream performance at some point in the future. The issue is that our drummer lives in a compromised household. So it’s very dangerous for him to go and be around people cause it could put his family at risk. That is something we are really trying to avoid. Not any solid plans yet, but if we can do it safely at some point in the future we definitely will.
Is there a song off the new record that you’ll be looking forward to playing live when you get the chance, Patrick?
Patrick: I’m really looking forward to playing, “Tunnel Vision.” To me, that song is like a typical Movements song. There’s you know, screaming in it, there’s a lot of energy. I can already see the outro of that song being a huge part for a lot of people. I’m excited to see how that one translates.
When COVID-19 is over. Are there any places you would like to tour that you haven’t yet for this album cycle?
Patrick: Yes, absolutely! I really want to go to like New Zealand, South America. We were supposed to go to Brazil in 2018 or 2017, I don’t remember. But unfortunately, it got canceled. We haven’t been able to make it down there at all. There are a couple of other places in Asia that I want to go, including Japan.
Any bands, in particular, you would like to tour with that you haven’t yet?
Patrick: There’s definitely a bunch. I would love to tour with larger bands like Bring Me the Horizon. Even bands like Fall Out Boy. Even like a Jimmy Eat World tour would be dope. I have my mindset on bigger tours. If we could get on a Twenty One Pilots tour I would be ecstatic [laughs] but I don’t think that would ever happen.
Finally, what are your guys’ plans for the rest of 2020 and looking into the next year? Patrick: Man… Were just trying to get through 2020 as quickly as possible and hopefully, next year brings better news. That’s the thing dude. 2020 is a wash, there’s nothing left to do. We’re going to put out the album. We’re going to promote it as much as we can and then we just have to wait. That’s it, that’s all that we can possibly do. Probably more merch drops and more Black Friday stuff. We have a tentative plan to have a summer tour next year. Sad our summer tour got canceled, we were upset about. We got it postponed to next year and hopefully, that means it will actually happen. If it doesn’t then it doesn’t.
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