Photo Courtesy of MoveAlongTH
From the heart of Khon Kaen, Thailand comes Move Along, a band that has steadily carved its place in the Southeast Asian pop-punk and indie rock scene. Known for their heartfelt lyrics, energetic performances, and relatable stories about youth, dreams, and life’s uncertainties, the trio has resonated with listeners navigating the challenges of growing up.
With the release of their first all-English album, Quarter Life, the band continues to expand its reach beyond borders, connecting with fans across Asia through songs that are both deeply personal and universally relatable.
In this City Stories interview, Move Along shares their journey as a band, the inspirations behind their music, the lessons they’ve learned along the way, and their aspirations for the future.
Can you introduce MOVE ALONG to readers who are discovering your music for the first time?
We’re Move Along, a melodic punk band from Khon Kaen, Thailand. The band consists of three mid-twenties punks: Atcha, Tew, and Ping. We started in 2018 and grew out of the local DIY punk and hardcore scene that would later become Northeast Heatwave.
Our music combines melodic punk, pop-punk melodies, emo honesty, and hardcore energy, with songs about growing up, mental health, relationships, and everything that comes with navigating your twenties. What started as a small project between friends from Northeast Thailand has grown into a band that’s been fortunate enough to tour Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan while staying true to our DIY roots.
How did the band originally form, and what inspired the name “MOVE ALONG”?
Move Along originally started as Atcha’s solo project before eventually becoming a full band. The name came from “Move Along” by The All-American Rejects, one of his favorite songs growing up.
The phrase always felt hopeful. No matter how difficult life gets, you keep moving forward. That idea became a big part of the band’s identity.
Your music carries strong emotional energy. What usually inspires your songwriting?
Mostly real life.
Relationships, heartbreak, family, friendships, mental health, loss, making mistakes, and trying to become a better person. We don’t really write fictional stories. Most of our songs come directly from things we’ve experienced ourselves.
How would you describe MOVE ALONG’s sound in your own words?
Fast, emotional, and honest.
At our core we’re a melodic punk band, but we’re heavily influenced by pop-punk, punk rock, emo, and hardcore. We love catchy melodies, but we also want our music to have urgency, energy, and a little bit of chaos.
What are some of the biggest life experiences that influenced your recent releases?
Growing older has probably been the biggest one.
Realizing adulthood isn’t what you expected, dealing with uncertainty, navigating relationships, struggling with mental health, losing loved ones, and figuring out where you belong in life. Those experiences shaped a lot of the songs on Quarter Life.
Your album Quarter Life touches on struggles and uncertainty in adulthood. What message did you want listeners to feel from it?
That they’re not alone.
A lot of people in their twenties feel lost or feel like they’re falling behind everyone else. We wanted Quarter Life to feel like a conversation between friends who are all trying to figure life out together.
Why did you decide to release a full English album?
Most of the bands that inspired us growing up wrote in English, so it always felt natural.
As we started touring outside Thailand, including Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan, we wanted to connect with listeners from different countries. Writing a full English album felt like the right challenge at the right time.
Which track from Quarter Life feels the most personal to the band and why?
Probably “Permanent.”
It’s one of the most vulnerable songs we’ve ever written. There’s no character or story hiding behind it. It’s just honest feelings about depression and emotional struggles.
How has the Thai alternative and pop-punk scene evolved over the years from your perspective?
It’s become much more connected and diverse.
When we started, most opportunities seemed to exist only in Bangkok. Today there are strong communities in places like Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and many other cities.
The DIY scene has also become stronger. More people are organizing shows, starting bands, and creating opportunities for themselves instead of waiting for someone else to do it.
What challenges have you faced as an independent band in Thailand?
Money is always a challenge.
Recording, touring, merchandise, travel, and promotion all cost a lot. Another challenge is simply the size of the scene. Thailand’s punk scene is still relatively small, so independent bands often have to create their own opportunities.
That’s one of the reasons we started Northeast Heatwave in the first place.
Are there any local or international artists that heavily influenced MOVE ALONG’s sound?
Internationally, bands like Green Day, Blink-182, Neck Deep, Joyce Manor, and many classic hardcore bands had a huge influence on us.
Locally, the biggest influence has honestly been the Thai DIY punk and hardcore community itself. Being around that scene taught us how to build something from the ground up and stay authentic.
When creating new music, what usually comes first, lyrics, melody, or emotion?
Emotion always comes first.
Sometimes it’s a memory, sometimes it’s a feeling, and sometimes it’s a moment that we can’t stop thinking about. Everything else grows from there.
What is the creative process inside the band like when producing a song together?
Usually somebody brings in an idea or rough demo and then everyone starts adding their own perspective.
We try not to overthink things too much. If a song feels honest and exciting, we trust our instincts.
How important is emotional honesty in MOVE ALONG’s music?
It’s everything.
We want people to connect with our songs because they’re real. Even if someone hasn’t experienced the exact same situation, we hope they can relate to the emotions behind it.
Have there been moments where music helped you personally overcome difficult times?
Absolutely.
Music has helped us through depression, grief, heartbreak, and some of the hardest moments of our lives. Without music, we honestly don’t know where we’d be.
What kind of atmosphere or feeling do you want people to experience during your live performances?
Freedom.
We want people to sing, stage dive, dance, mosh, and forget about their problems for a little while.
Our roots come from hardcore shows, so we love seeing people participate rather than just stand and watch. The best shows are the ones where the crowd becomes part of the performance.
How do you connect with fans who relate deeply to your lyrics and stories?
We try to stay approachable.
We’re still the same people hanging out after shows, talking to people, and supporting our local scenes. Hearing that a song helped somebody through a difficult time means more to us than any streaming number.
In your opinion, what keeps pop-punk alive and relatable for newer generations?
The emotions never change.
Every generation experiences heartbreak, loneliness, friendship, hope, anxiety, and rebellion. The details might be different, but the feelings stay the same.
That’s why pop-punk keeps finding new audiences.
What are your goals as a band moving forward internationally?
We want to continue touring internationally and introduce more people to what is happening in Thailand’s punk scene. So far we’ve been fortunate enough to perform in Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan, and we hope to keep expanding to more countries in the future.
We also want to continue building Northeast Heatwave and create more opportunities for younger punk and hardcore bands from outside Bangkok. As a band from Khon Kaen, we want to show that great music and strong communities can come from anywhere.
If somebody from another country discovers Thai punk through Move Along, that’s something we’re incredibly proud of.
Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to your supporters in the Philippines and around the world?
Thank you for supporting a small melodic punk band from Khon Kaen, Thailand.
Every stream, every message, every show, and every person singing our songs means more than you probably realize.
Everything we’ve accomplished came from DIY culture, community support, and people believing in us when we were just kids playing local punk and hardcore shows in Northeast Thailand.
Whether you’re in the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, or anywhere else in the world, thank you for being part of this journey.
We hope to see you at a show someday.
Show your support and be part of their journey! Follow Move Along and stay updated on their latest music, releases, and upcoming activities.
Click the link below and give them a follow.
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