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With oodles of singles and compilation appearances (and four full-length records) in their wake, Columbus-based Moviola have emerged as one of the best Indie bands to come out of the Buckeye state in the past 10 years. But, as their discriminating, organically crafted songwriting might suggest, it hasn't necessarily been an explosion onto the scene, with the band quietly garnering a massive press kit full of fawning (and largely deserved) critics' praises. Moviola's latest release, Rumors of the Faithful, shows the band to have a firm grasp on the art of subtlety. The band's fractured Americana doesn't pound you over the head with artiness, baffle you with quirkiness or confound you with cleverness, as so much Indie Rock music seems to strive for. With an acoustic base and a respectable lack of irony, Moviola ply its song skills with a sense of grace and genuine intimacy. There's a nice sense of diversity to the flow of Rumors, due, undoubtedly in some part, to the fact that each of the band members write and sing. But even while jumping from the alluring pop of the title track to the stoned twilight-jamboree of "Oregonia" to the sleepy Roots Rock of "Old Town East," the band still retains a cool cohesion. Moviola does an exquisite job of implanting their Midwestern roots into some of the their more contemporary influence and the results make for some blissfully bleary-eyed, soulful Roots music.
At the Southgate House parlour room on Friday with the Wolverton Brothers.
— M.B.
