Record Reviews

Philadelphia Weekly
Sept. 13, 2001

Moviola

There's nothing hard or mean or tortured about Moviola, and that's exactly what makes you realize how long it's been since you've heard music so easy. Sure, the Columbus, Ohio, group can write and sing--with a pleasantly countrified major-chord melodicism--about melancholy. But it's a kind of collective, generational sadness that's far from the self- indulgent whining about relationships we're gotten so used to. The songs on Rumors of the Faithful--like "John Butler Train," "Sam's Curfew" and "Old Town East"--are often stories of place rather than person, which makes listening to Moviola sort of like reading Walker Percy. Sort of like walking through a quiet town and wondering if anyone's around. Sort of like talking to the guy on the barstool next to yours and hearing his story--only is it his story you're getting, or someone else's? These catchy and unavoidable melodies are utterly evocative of simplicity--which has become so elusive in pop music these days that it seems shatteringly new when you hear it. This Dot Dash in-store appearance should be a perfect (because intimate) setting to see Moviola. Kind of like watching William Carlos Williams get his groove on. (Liz Spikol)