If Moviola’s latest single has a call to arms, it’s this: “The superior man understands what’s right, and the inferior man understands what will sell,” says drummer Greg Bonnell, who wrote and sings the track. “Fight the power with guitars.”
Thirty years later, unbeknownst to many, Columbus, Ohio’s Moviola continues to fend off obscurity with its 11th album, Earthbound, available August 29 via Dromedary. Much like their countrymen in Guided By Voices and Ass Ponys, they tend to thrive in a self-contained, lo-fi cocoon of their own making—a place where their awkward eccentricities can shine. Whether they’re dabbling in aggressive indie rock, fuzzed-out Americana or the world-weary power pop of “Slage Wave,” it never feels like they’ll be sticking with any of it for long. And therein lies the charm.
Bonnell and Jake Housh were students at Ohio State University when they first assembled Moviola in 1993, recording in various basements, warehouses and attics and sharing split singles with such like-minded friends as the Handsome Family, Cobra Verde and Tobin Sprout. Albums emerged once every year or two … until they didn’t. The members of Moviola took a lengthy break after 2008’s Broken Horses, picking up pretty much where they left off in 2019 with Scrape And Cuss. Given the overall excellence of its recorded output, Moviola should have a passionate national following akin to GBV’s. But then again, the band never thought to play much outside of its home state.
Recorded in Ohio, New York and Vermont, Earthbound qualifies as the band’s most streamlined and succinct effort—and that’s saying something. Bonnell has this to say about the video for “Slage Wave”:
“It was shot and edited by Jake, starring the band, in a version of ‘Which Side Are You On?’ come to life. This time, though, it’s at a hot dog stand run by a domineering boss who practices management by iPad. The ghost of Johnny Paycheck, union organizing, hilarity and sadness ensue.”
We’re proud to premiere Moviola’s “Slage Wave.”
—Hobart Rowland
