War, what is it good for?
International Folksters, Moriarty, are made up of four brothers, and lead-singing, daughter of an Ohio musician. They reside in a number of cities including London, Paris, LA, Boston and Cincinnati. This is what you’d get if Joni Mitchell jammed with Dusty Rhodes And The River Band.
This single, ‘Private Lily’ is a mellow jig of a song telling the tale of Lily (unsurprisingly), and how she has nothing in her life - no money or prospects - until she joins the army and they pay for her education, and send her to battle. The strong lyrical content is hidden behind the beautiful vocals that are very Joni Mitchell-esque, however it’s musically that Moriarty are strong, as whereas other Folk bands have a tendency to lean towards simple acoustics whilst the poetic vocals soothe away a summers day, here we get a wonderful arrangement of instruments too. We have a simple loop from an acoustic guitar and the gentle thump of brushes on a snare, whilst there is also intertwining horns and plucks of a Jews Harp.
As the geographic influence in their heritage suggests (French, American, Swiss and Vietnamese parentage), the band are a cross between Grass Roots Folk and European Indie-Folk. This gives us a very unique sound. Very nice, thank you very much!