Album Review: Tiny Habits - 'The Keepers'
Enchanting, delving into uncharted territory and delivered straight from the heart, Tiny Habits confirm with their new album that they are indeed ones to be kept around.
Over the last few years, Tiny Habits have become the benchmark for rich harmonies, textured vocal arrangements and tracks that ooze charisma. Having found their roots within the intimate, folksy music world, the trio (made up of artists Maya Rae, Cinya Khan, and Judah Mayowa.) venture into a new era with their sophomore album, ‘Keepers’. Blooming with colour, this release expands the group’s sonic horizons as they delve into new genres and styles. It is a celebration of all they have learnt since their debut EP in 2023, building upon their experiences high and low. Transformed by all they’ve endured, they release this album rejuvenated and raring to go. Together across 12 songs, they seek to capture the excitement, uncertainty, heartbreak and self-discovery that come with growing into yourself. They tell the stories of the people, memories, relationships and versions of ourselves that we choose to carry forward into the great unknown and the ones that we ultimately choose to leave behind.
The album opens with ‘Love Ruins Everything’. Longtime fans of Tiny Habits will immediately notice a sonic progression in style compared to earlier work. Built on percussion, horns and punchy keys, its a track that feels almost comparable to Motown and Soul. Where they may have been called quiet and unassuming before, Tiny Habits now enter the room with immediate presence. They are here to make a statement. The song is about evolutions in how we perceive and understand things, namely love and relationships. Compared to the hopeful sweet perspective people might have expected from the group in their previous folksy era, this is more mature and realised; there is the understanding that ‘real’ love does not work in ways we always want:
‘When it’s over it was all for nothing, when it’s happening it’s that or nothing else.
This idea of perspectives and attitudes evolving with us as we move through live is a central theme to the album as a whole. For the purpose of the album, these perspectives and attitudes are largely tied into how we see and understand love and relationships. The idea though can be applied to Tiny Habits themselves. As they have moved through life and changed as a group, so has their artistry; the sound is different, the mindset is different, the approach is different. They are something new, and yet somehow keeping true to the foundations that make them who they are.
For those looking for nostalgia, ‘Anything He Was’ will likely be on repeat. Musically, its the closest thing we get to the feel of the debut album - its early release as a single was a clever bridge between the sonic landscapes of the old and the new. Slow, steady and with a sobering honesty, its a track that highlights Rae, Khan and Mayowa’s abilities as singer-songwriters. Lamenting on a love turned bittersweet, the arrangement is simply gorgeous. Anyone who follows their social media knows that Tiny Habits have their harmonies down to an art but the way this track has been produced and orchestrated add layers and textures that paint the song in technicolour. The layers increase twofold when none other than Matty Healy of 1975 fame features in the chorus and second verse, an unexpected but welcome surprise.
Not wanting to pigeonhole in their new era, the adventures through genre exploration and sonic style continue as the album progresses. ‘Someone You Love’ takes listeners into a more traditional pop feel with its earwormy electric guitar hook, dreamy synths and upbeat rhythm. Elsewhere on ‘Belt Loop’, things have a more RnB energy as the melody is punctuated by brass, bass and keys. There are moments throughout the record where you can identify potential influences and it’s very clear that Tiny Habits find inspiration all around them. Whether intentional or not, the nods are testament to the group’s versatility and breadth of talent; to be able to write in any genre is a feat, to be good in all of them is a gift.
‘Keepers’ is Tiny Habits colouring outside of the lines. Production wise, its a mosaic that paints a picture of unity through connection. From living rooms, a shower at a hockey arena and a farm in upstate New York, the album was worked on in spaces everywhere. All the pieces came together at home, where the trio were surrounded by friends and collaborators. It reflects on the experiences they’ve had both independently and as a group, ultimately asking the question of whether the pain we feel as a result of the things we keep around is worth the burden of being carried. Its impossible to ignore the changes in sound since their debut, the reality is that much like everything else in life, Tiny Habits will continue to evolve and expand. What remains the same though is their steadfast focus on the small, intimate and complicated feelings from which their songs are created. The music may sound different, but at it’s core it seeks to say the same thing.
Tiny Habits head on tour later this year. For now, all dates announced between September and December are exclusive to North America and Canada. They are joined by Marie Dresselhuis for all dates. Whether the tour will extend across the pond into the new year remains to be seen, all that can be done in the meantime is to keeper an eye out.
Words by Kirsty-Ann Thomson
