L.A. Weekly
Record Reviews:

MOVIOLA
Rumors of the Faithful (Spirit of Orr)

One activity that goes sorely neglected in L.A. is the highly restorative practice of porch sitting. The mode of leisure preferred by rural folk, porch sitting combines reclining in a chair and a slow study of one’s neighborhood. For added ambiance, one might throw some tunes on the box; anything by a bunch of cowboys with a little hippie fringe will do — The Band, John Denver, Leon Russell, or Moviola’s new one, Rumors of the Faithful. Gleaning folky sensibilities from decades of dusty old albums, Moviola make their tunes without a lick of psychedelia or jangle, easily molding a bumpkin vibe sans the flash.

“This Conversation” is painted by dirty-blue-jean-isms like “I work every day or two, I can’t complain it’s gonna rain/We sit till the sun goes down . . . go inside and watch me slip away.” “Misdirected Brother” is reminiscent of the Grateful Dead’s Workingman’s Dead, with its Jerryesque narration and existential attitude regarding loss: “Now you’re an acquaintance, think I’d barely recognize/If I never see you, may you live both old and wise.” With its horn-swept strains and nostalgic lap steel, the loveliest and most realized track is “October Leaves,” a swirling, melancholy drive through a changing season without the one who stayed behind.

Rumors of the Faithful’s unadorned melodies, gliding riffs and small-town prose — “Hill of beans and run down plenty . . . got a feeling I might live to 105” (“Old Town East”), “Fog’s lifting, the fence posts ticking the time” (“Sam’s Curfew”) — coalesce song and story into multidimensioned scenes starring characters you can almost touch. Moviola offer a place to shake off your shoes and bleed into the woodwork. (Wendy Gilmartin)