Listening

Moviola, Rumors of the Faithful

Dirty, soulful pop reminiscent of Alex Chilton, The Byrds, and Neil Young. Kind of. Okay, no—here’s what it’s like: all of Big Star and Crosby, Stills, & Nash get liquored up and go out to the country for the weekend. Wait, maybe Jeff Tweedy’s along for the ride…

So now you know the vein of music Moviola is mining. But what really makes this Columbus, Ohio, outfit’s fifth release stand out are its minimal arrangements and its spare production. The real focus here is on interesting, well-written pop arrangements—and Moviola has them in spades. From the vibrant, plaintive ease of ‘Covers and Pages’ through the harmony-laced chorus of ‘This Conversation’ to the angelic blues of ‘Top of the Street,’ Moviola crafts unforgettable pop gems imbued with a classic flair, and they do it very, very well.

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Andrew Womack is a founding editor of The Morning News. He is always working on the next installment of the Albums of the Year series at TMN. More by Andrew Womack

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