Moviola

Columbus, Ohio outfit Moviola began as a lo-fi unit whose early recordings leaned on sparse, abrasive indie rock before shifting toward buoyant, off-kilter indie pop. Their later style layers jangly guitars with melodic touches drawn from folk and country, all anchored by thoughtful, word-focused lyrics. Frequently likened to fellow Buckeye outsiders Guided by Voices and the Ass Ponys, the group earned a devoted following inside Ohio while drawing praise from critics who valued their wide-ranging yet unpretentious sound. Their 1996 debut The Year You Were Born captured the raw edges of those initial efforts, whereas 1999’s The Durable Dream leaned harder into melodic pop. The 2001 album Rumors of the Faithful turned inward, emphasizing quiet folk textures, and 2020’s Scrape and Cuss brought back a playful tone bolstered by horns and keyboards.

Five Ohio State University students—Greg Bonnell on drums, Jerry Dannemiller on guitar and vocals, Ted Hattemer on bass and vocals, Jake Housh on keyboards, guitar, and vocals, and Scotty Tabachnick on keyboards, guitar, and vocals—launched the band in 1993. Bonnell had earlier played in the Naked Skinnies alongside a pre-American Music Club Mark Eitzel, while Hattemer had also performed with Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments. Taking their name from a vintage film-editing device, the quintet released the single “Waste” b/w “Gin and Tonic” that same year. A 10-inch EP titled Frantic followed in 1995; an expanded CD edition appeared two years later on Spirit of Orr. The wiry, guitar-heavy approach of Frantic carried over to the full-length The Year You Were Born. Arrangements opened up on 1998’s Glen Echo Autoharp, and The Durable Dream added a brighter, lightly jangling pop sensibility. A rootsier direction surfaced on Rumors of the Faithful, folding in stronger folk and country elements that grew fuller when guest musicians joined for 2004’s East of Eager and 2007’s Dead Knowledge. Also in 2007, the limited-edition collection Broken Horses gathered rare and unreleased tracks spanning 1994 to 2001.

By then several members held jobs at Ohio State instead of studying there, and all but Tabachnick—who had moved to Brattleboro, Vermont—remained in Columbus. Outside commitments kept the band from frequent shows or long tours, though they seldom ventured beyond Ohio anyway, leading to an informal break during which the members kept writing. In 2019 they regrouped in a studio to capture new material that became their first album in thirteen years, Scrape and Cuss, which made greater use of horns and keyboards while retaining the group’s singular, slightly askew perspective.