With members of French, American, Swiss and Vietnamese parentage, based in several cities around the globe, they're a ramshackle olde worlde acoustic outfit with a theatrical bent and a tendency to dress like 1930s Prohibition outlaws who make a mess of sound that takes in folk, country, blues, jazz and cabaret. Their first UK release – they've already established a huge following in France, where their debut album, Gee Whiz But This is a Lonesome Town, sold 70,000 copies and was certified Gold – is a single called Jimmy and it sounds like it was recorded around the turn of the last century, all jaunty bluegrass guitar, wistful harmonica and lyrics about roaming buffalo.
Listen back toTrans Europa Express with Gabriele Urban for a live set from Moriarty.
