David M Rangel / August 29, 2025 / Review
Upon first listen of “Dark Cloud”, the first track on Moviola’s latest record, Earthbound, one could reasonably assume they could suss out the songs on the rest of the record and the band’s overall sound. The song has a common feel, typically heard in indie rock circles in the past few decades. The short, lo-fi Americana-style tune, which rolls at a slower country pace, is led by a vocalist who lands somewhere between Neil Young and Doug Martsch of Built to Spill. Fans of similar sounds such as Blitzen Trapper and Beechwood Sparks should take note.
But Moviola is not your typical rock band. It is more of a democratically-run collective in which the five members have equal standing, bringing their influences to writing, lead vocals and instruments, which are often switched around between them. The resulting sound is a mixture of minds and talent which create music that is often hard to define, sometimes mixing genres within individual songs. Musical lines are obscured and often change, not only song by song, but album by album. The collective has operated this way since their inception in 1993 and are true masters of eclecticism.
“Kid Familiar” starts off with a sparse folk-style and makes its way to the middle at which point a dreamy slide guitar creates an atmosphere. That guitar returns at the end of the track as the tempo slows down and the vocals take on an ethereal, Flaming Lips quality, ending the song on a quite different note than which it began.
It’s curious to note how the fidelity on this album can vary so vastly between tracks. A number of these songs sound properly produced and ready for the college radio crowd, while others (“Sittin”, “Earthbound”) feel like they were effortlessly and nonchalantly performed in some dive bar in anywhere, USA or lazily strummed on a porch, somewhere in some sleepy southern town. In both instances, these gents are equally astute at creating quirky, hip indie hybrids, as well as pastoral echos of small town America.
“Gathered in Bloom” may be, arguably, the most hip track on the album, among a number of standouts. The soulful bass intro gives way to guitars that suggest a vaguely 1960s flavor. All this is led by vocals that are reminiscent of Galaxie 500’s Dean Wareham, singing esoteric lyrics that are thought-provoking, regardless of whether they can be decoded.
When a band has been making music for as long as Moviola, it’s inevitable that their views and focus will change. Things that are important to them and how they view the world, evolve with the natural progression of aging and advancing as a human. In the early years of the band, the Columbus, Ohio quintet were creating four-track-styled, lo-fi pop music alongside their Ohio contemporaries, which included Guided By Voices and Ass Ponys. They were rubbing elbows with heavy hitters of the day such as Bettie Serveert, The Flaming Lips and Matador Records. While they have retained some aspects of that noise-pop style in their current music, they have evolved into a more rural/Americana sound.
Song subject matter is now focusing on things that aren’t as important to younger musicians, such as aging, mortality, a place in the world, etc. “Long Gone” and “Slage Wave” are two such examples of the band putting into perspective the short time we have on earth, and the inevitable end. There are even inferences to Vice President J.D. Vance in the hand-clapping sing along, “Hillbilly Effigy”. But, as serious of subject matter as songs like these may be, the group retain a realistic perspective, while still sounding hopeful and making the best of unavoidable situations.
“Close to the Light” rounds out the record with a straightforward meat and potatoes rock ‘n’ roll approach. Thought it was likely not the intention, the placing of this song at the end of the record seems symbolic, in a way. As if to say that, despite the band’s engagement in countrified sounds, lo-fi pop, or any other convoluted noise, they are in fact, still just a rock ‘n’ roll band.
Moviola has been doing DIY their own way for over three decades. Their atypical ways of creating music and being a band in general, have helped them gain respect for their ever changing, unpredictable songs. From their early heyday to more recent times of flying under the radar, they have never bowed to mundane predictability. Their more recent output has proven that despite the fact that day jobs and other less artistically-satisfying aspects of life always set in, they can remain an interesting, relevant rock band that is capable of rearranging music into fresh, new versions of itself.
The album is out today on Dromedary Records. Stream it here.
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