Writing a full length album is hard. There is a vast ocean of bands that struggle deeply with this hurdle, showing moments of brilliance in the form of a few standout tracks, but rounding out their records with less than stellar filler. For their previous two albums, Tiny Moving Parts fell into this group. On both prior full lengths there are some truly great moments that showcase a strong combination of technical skill and confidence in their own sound that was very easy to get behind. Tracks like “Vacation Bible School” and “Always Focused” are excellent examples of this. But invariably these albums failed to stick, mostly due to a lack of strong supporting tracks. With Celebrate, Tiny Moving Parts has completely bucked this trend, creating a stellar and cohesive album that manages to keep the magic of their previous singles while removing any hiccups along the way.

It is important to immediately highlight the changes between this album and the band’s previous efforts in more detail. The insane technical skill that was the cornerstone of previous albums, while still most certainly present, is no longer the sole focal point. Instead, a newfound sense of songwriting takes the spotlight. Beyond this, the mixing has been massively improved from prior works, leading to a sound that more closely resembles the live experience, with way more punch and the occasional “hollow” feeling completely removed.

The result of these changes is an album that is much more easily digested. Lead single “Happy Birthday”, which displays an excellent hook and beautiful bridge with a well placed violins, shows off the new style in a very strong manner. This track also contains the first of many appearances of the guest vocals provided by Kelc Gazullo, who complements the normal tones of singer Dylan Mattheisen quite nicely. She is also featured on “Birdhouse” wherein her voice contributes heavily to the final minute of the song with an emotional refrain that, in combination with the infectious opening riff, makes this one of the best on the album. Gazullo’s vocals are also shown off in both of the album’s final two tracks, and her appearance adds a very strong dynamic to the album as a whole.

However, the show is truly stolen by Connor Murphy’s guest appearance on the standout track “Common Cold”. The first half is a very atypical look at the band’s sound, with simple instrumentals that demand the listeners attention, before sliding into more familiar territory with a strong guitar line after the chorus. This leads into Murphy’s brilliantly high pitched vocals, used initially on their own before culminating in a call and response with Mattheisen. The combination of the two vocalists, along with an overall darker tone create one of the album’s high points.

This darker tone continues with “Stay Warm” a solid track that displays a very strong lyrical theme before a very abrupt ending. Lyrics are consistently great on the album with small nods to previous works tossed in occasionally. Almost every chorus begs to be sang along to, specifically those in “Good Enough” and “Headache”. Incidentally, these tracks both contain some of bassist Matthew Chevalier’s very strong screams as well, a classic staple of the band’s sound.

That being said, the track that most closely resembles the bands old sound is most certainly the slowed down “Minnesota”, featuring more of Gazullo’s vocals and some of the most technical playing anywhere on the album. This extremely intricate side also appears in both “Breathe Deep” and “Volumes”, with the former shifting in tempo for the final 30 seconds, and the latter showing off an insanely well executed intro and verse combination that transitions well into yet another ridiculously catchy chorus.The album closes out on a very solid note with “Minnow”, featuring even more of Gazullo’s vocals and technical guitar work. The track servers as a triumphant and satisfying climax before ending in a abrupt manner that feels quite fitting for the album as a whole.

If there is a single word with which to describe Celebrate, it is cohesive. The band comes together as an extraordinarily satisfying unit that meshes their knack for technical playing with a much more capable songwriting in a seamless fashion. Assuming they are able to remain focused, the future looks very bright for Tiny Moving Parts.

9/10

Favorite Tracks- “Common Cold”, “Good Enough”, “Birdhouse”