Southern California’s post-hardcore torchbearers Movements are tightening the screws on their fourth full-length, and the latest preview makes it clear the quartet has no interest in resting on their laurels. Today, the band shared “Separate,” the aching closer from their forthcoming album Happier Now, which arrives September 4 via Fearless Records.

If “Separate” is any indication, Happier Now is going to be the kind of record that lives in your chest for a while. The song leans into everything Movements do best — angular guitar work that pivots on a dime, that trademark tension-and-release dynamic, and lyrics that read like pages torn out of a journal you weren’t supposed to find. It’s post-hardcore earnestness at its most disarming, the sound of a band pushing forward even while writing about the urge to stop entirely.

Vocalist Patrick Miranda didn’t mince words about where the track came from. “‘Separate’ is about a turning point I experienced during the writing of this album,” he explains. “Between creative friction, internal and intrapersonal struggles, and the weight of needing to create something that felt meaningful, the stress of it all hit me hard. I felt like I had nothing more to offer in that moment. Instead of fighting it, I withdrew. It’s about feeling so overwhelmed in life that instead of confronting the issue, you just want to separate entirely from whatever situation is causing it.”

Produced once again by GRAMMY winner Will Yip (Turnstile, Title Fight, Circa Survive), Happier Now is pitched as a full-circle moment for Movements — a record that fuses the raw emotional pull of their early material with the more adventurous instincts of 2023’s RUCKUS!. Previous singles “Dissolve Me” and “Back in My Ways” set the tonal north stars, and “Separate” closes the loop in appropriately gutting fashion.

Happier Now Tracklist:
1. Pulse
2. Dissolve Me
3. Everything Is Fine
4. Happier Now
5. Flowerbed
6. Back in My Ways
7. Spellbound
8. Ill at Ease
9. Live by the Sword
10. Everyone I’ve Ever Been
11. Fragile Hands
12. Separate

Movements will take the new material on the road this fall for a massive U.S. headline run with Balance and Composure, Midrift, and NIIS in tow — a lineup that is, frankly, catnip for anyone who has ever owned a cardigan and a copy of Separation.

Movements U.S. Tour Dates:
10/7 — Seattle, WA — Showbox SoDo
10/8 — Portland, OR — Crystal Ballroom
10/10 — San Jose, CA — San Jose Civic
10/12 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Complex
10/14 — Denver, CO — Mission Ballroom
10/15 — Omaha, NE — Steelhouse
10/17 — Cleveland, OH — Agora Theater
10/18 — Chicago, IL — The Salt Shed
10/20 — Royal Oak, MI — Royal Oak Music Theatre
10/21 — Pittsburgh, PA — Stage AE
10/23 — New York, NY — Terminal 5
10/24 — Philadelphia, PA — Franklin Music Hall
10/25 — Boston, MA — Roadrunner
10/28 — Silver Spring, MD — The Fillmore Silver Spring
10/30 — Richmond, VA — The National
10/31 — Norfolk, VA — The NorVa
11/2 — Raleigh, NC — The Ritz
11/4 — St. Petersburg, FL — Jannus Landing
11/6 — Orlando, FL — Hard Rock Live
11/7 — Atlanta, GA — The Tabernacle
11/10 — San Antonio, TX — Tech Port
11/11 — Dallas, TX — Bomb Factory
11/13 — Mesa, AZ — Mesa Amphitheater
11/14 — Santa Ana, CA — Observatory Festival Grounds

Pre-save Happier Now, mark your calendar for September 4, and get your tickets before your favorite date sells out. In the meantime, sit with “Separate” for a few spins — the struggle has never sounded so sweet.

Stream Happier Now on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7HYm5WG8IiXJtgWvYPGTfI