ALBUM REVIEW: breathe – Tiny Moving Parts

With band’s like MODERN BASEBALL and the UK’s CRASH OF RHINOS calling time on their careers and going on indefinite hiatuses, it has been said that the sun is setting on the great emo revival of the late 2000s/early 2010s. However, in the wake of all the breakup announcements, the genre’s new blood, along with the beloved old guard have stepped further to the forefront in order to keep the genre as vibrant as ever. One of the bands who has been an integral part of the scene for the longest time are Minnesotan trio TINY MOVING PARTS, for whom 2019 marks the release of their stunningly vivid seventh album breathe.

With a whimsical album cover consisting of a toy wolf surrounded by miniature flowers, backed by mountains, and positively bursting with colour, breathe perfectly carries this atmosphere into the album’s lively first track The Midwest Sky. Twinkly guitar lines precede the bright, driven verse and give the whole track an instant feeling of optimism and airy beauty. It is in the lyrics, however, where the true tale is told. Dig a little deeper and hidden in the cheerful instrumentation is a sorrowful tale of lost love and intense longing. “Our wishing well cracked in the concrete. The water fled, our love went obsolete. I can’t get used to this. I feel so different” vocalist Dylan Mattheisen laments.

The whole album is steeped in this sorrowful honesty, with frontman and lyricist Dylan Mattheisen firmly wearing his heart on his sleeve throughout. There are glimpses of hope amongst the anguish, however, as with the track Soft Spot. Despite the optimistic theme of the track, Soft Spot still maintains a thick layer of TINY MOVING PARTS‘ darkly honest signature style.

Musically, breathe achieves what a lot of their contemporaries fail to. There are a lot of people who disregard emo, still thinking it to be a genre without much depth or complexity, but breathe‘s mere existence stands as a huge middle finger to all those people. If taken at face value, the album shines as a beautifully crafted, musically complex emo masterpiece – with more than enough infectious energy and contrasting moments to provide a stunning start-to-finish experience. But to fully experience the beauty contained within the album, a grasp of the intense themes of loss, longing, love, and pain is needed in order to provide the context that highlights the beautiful juxtaposition between light and dark.

If any more proof was needed as to why TINY MOVING PARTS have enjoyed such longevity over their ten-plus year career, look no further than breathe. Their new album not only encapsulates the very essence of the emo genre at its peak but signifies a band who now bear the torch, paving the way for those following behind them. If you’re a longtime fan of emo and the emo revival, or whether you’re looking to dip your toe into the water, this is the place to start or extend your emo journey. breathe is an utterly outstanding piece of work and stands as emo’s shining star in 2019.

Rating: 8/10

breathe is out now via Hopeless Records. 

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