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1999’s ‘The Durable Dream’, the fourth long player from Ohio quartet Moviola was a quietly smouldering listening pleasure, in fact if truth be known one of the best from that particular years vintage. It was a watershed of sorts for the band, the gentle shifting of their early indie roots to something a little more homely, tranquil and countrified, crystallised amid its grooves recalling the casual crispness of Buffalo Springfield and Gram Parsons, around the same time (or thereabouts) a Summer Hymns debut and a second Doleful Lions album showed a similar melodic transition though several steps behind in terms of realisation.
By 2001 the follow up ‘Rumours of the Faithful’ should have seen the development complete yet, though not a particularly bad record, in fact it was stronger than its predecessor (especially on the likes of the tingling ‘Exit Pearl (Paddington Platform 7)’ and ‘Oregonia’) yet it couldn’t conceal that nagging feeling that internally there was an air of uncertainty. It was an uncertainty akin to a teen leaving the familiar nest to meet the big bad world, Moviola were still after all ambitious otherwise what’s the point of making a record if you can’t sell it and become a focal point to some extent.
Enter ‘East of Eager’, maybe the title says it all because wherever Moviola go from this point on it seems they won’t chase you for your approval but rather it’ll be you finding them. Now bolstered to a quintet with the arrival of Greg Bonnell, ‘East of Eager’ is the sound of five guys happily settled down with families, responsibilities, weekday jobs all meeting up on the occasional weekend and rather than organise fishing trips or breaks to sit in remote cabins finding themselves, instead casually arrange themselves around a campfire swapping tales to cook up some of the most (secluded from the passing smog and clamber of everyday life) heartfelt moods and melodies that speak in a purely innately lasting language. It’s an album that finds its integral players at one with themselves, comfortable and certain, too disparate to be part of the alt country fold, to rustically ambling to be considered West Coast, Moviola’s subtle embrace of varying styles pose a conundrum for would be listeners and critics alike. Their influence is clearly apparent through the more outer edges of what passed for the late Elephant 6 collective, their timeless artistry finding its roots in late 60’s folk and early 70’s Americana like a rambling version of the Band with the Buffalo Springfield references still in tact (especially on the lazing welcome of ’Hitched’), yet there’s a spiritual connection with their contemporaries such as Grandaddy maybe, though Moviola are privately deeper, the odd shimmers of bluegrass sparked by their well rounded knack for sounding positively free and drifting are enhanced by the waft of pedal steels, violins and brass arrangements that sprinkle it with a dustily docile amour just check out the lolloping opines on the sentimentally curved ‘The Ghost of Daniel Boone’ which opens the set or the gently trickling vibes of the romantic pastoral creaking within ‘Halflife’ which passes more than a few casual nods to Paul Burch.
‘About Brother’ with its wholesome jaunty sing-a-long demeanour could easily be a half cousin to ‘Misdirected Brother’ from the bands previous long player fitted as it is with a criminally infectious hillbilly matter of fact appeal while elsewhere ‘Ashes Pop’ is deceptively princely summoning up a misty eyed fusion of the Faces, Mike Nesmith and Lou Barlow with an authentic mid 70’s haze strapped to their uniquely trade mark carved persona to make it the albums critical high point along with the closing Harmonica / keyboard laced driving World Party like country pop of ‘East of Eager’ before packing us all of to bed with the touching tear stained slow burn mellowness of ‘Luis Aparicio’. So set yourself down a spell and pull up a pew for Moviola’s open invitation porch party, you won’t be disappointed.
MARK BARTON
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