Always in Motion

SoCal native Lexi Vega was raised by musicians and played drums for others before launching her own songwriting project, Mini Trees. Her blend of angsty, '90s-descended indie rock and melancholy, synthetic bedroom pop first appeared on a pair of EPs in 2019 and 2020. Vega develops that sound further a year later on her first full-length release and Run for Cover Records debut, Always in Motion. Produced by Jon Joseph, who also worked on the EPs, the album was written primarily during pandemic lockdown. Penned in March 2020, when COVID-19 started shutting down the U.S., opening track "Moments in Between" captures a specific time of longing for both the past and the future. Plaintive acoustic guitar chords, reverb, and the singer's downcast, vulnerable vocal delivery begin the song, which soon adds electronic drums and layers of spongy and twinkling keyboards, creating a lush, yearning atmosphere that defines much of the album. When "Moments in Between" lands on its grooving chorus -- ba