Mini Trees Confronts Time's Inevitability on Her Debut LP, Always in Motion

Lexi Vega takes an enormous step in her evolution as a songwriter

Last year, I happened upon Slip Away, the second EP from Lexi Vega, who performs as Mini Trees. “Want Me To Stay,” and the title track immediately pulled me into Vega’s bedroom pop in the vein of Jay Som and Mitski. Under twenty minutes long, Slip Away was a great introduction that left me wanting more.

What started as a third short player, Always in Motion, is the full-length debut for Mini Trees. Working again with producer Jon Joseph, Vega has created something much lusher than her earlier EPs and singles, leaving behind bedroom pop for what she self-describes as “living room pop.” An album that asks onerous questions that are messy and don’t necessarily have answers, Always in Motion explores time’s perpetual motion, taking the good times with the bad.

It’s a natural progression for the Los Angeles-based musician who started as a drummer in many projects around the scene. Being behind the kit is in her blood, the daughter of a Japanese-American mother and Cuban father who also was a touring percussionist. After losing her father at a young age, Mini Trees became Vega’s outlet to process and examine life’s traumas.

Musically, Always in Motion is less about hooks and more about grooves and melody, which can initially make the album appear sapless if not given the proper attention. But upon repeated listens, Vega rewards with sun-soaked layers of infectious indie pop. The best example of this is “Differently,” in which Vega forgoes repetitious choruses in favor of bending new lyrics to fit into the song’s addictive melody. It’s a refreshing update to a formula that is as old as pop music.

This is also a pandemic record not only in its timing but in theme. The opener “Moments in Between,” written in March of last year, examines the desire for the past or future while accepting the truth is in the present. “Doomsday” explores modern anxieties as Vega wonders, “who will be left when we get to the end? Terrified, I pretend it’s some doomsday myth,” over a tasteful mix of weaving synths.

“Carrying On” is a second-half highlight, featuring a driving bassline and drums with Vega’s dreamy double-tracked vocals filling in the gaps. Always in Motion finishes where it started with “Otherwise,” as Vega accepts that there isn’t an answer for all of the questions, which may be the only attainable resolution. It ties the record together, which effortlessly floats from one song to the next while also serving up each song’s exceptional moment.

Like her EPs before, this record feels like Vega and Mini Trees are working towards something more significant. Always in Motion is an atmospheric and meditative album that is easy to get lost in, but one can’t help but ponder that Vega’s biggest moment is yet to come. With this piece being her first on the always reliable Run For Cover Records and having just finished a tour with Julien Baker before shows with the also rising Deep Sea Diver and Tasha, Mini Trees are on the right path.

Always in Motion is available now on Run For Cover Records.

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