The Agency… began in 2012, as a large musical collective based in Newcastle upon Tyne. They are now a settled smaller unit, featuring;
Steve Beyer – guitar, Garry Cosgrove – drums, Steven K Driver – singer/songwriter/guitar Andy Ludbrook – bass, Kerry Ramsay – vocals.
Their debut album, ‘For the Brave and Troubled’ (Dec 2012), featured Jason Blaney on additional drums, string samples from DJ Fonzarelli and the talents of Gemma Thompson on cello. Scott Wall (My Exit Music) lent his piano-playing skills and appears again on The Agency…’s forthcoming album, ‘Of Ghosts’, as does Fraser Smith (Little Man Tate/Shed Seven). Jim Ward also plays guitar on several tracks.
This summer will see ‘The Agency…’ take their Gothicana sound on the road to support the release of their second album, ‘Of Ghosts’, which features the singles ‘She/The Temple’ (Crack Magazine Single of the Month, April 2013), ‘Sad Parallel’, and ‘Child So Careless’.
Listeners describe the band’s sound as rich and multi-textured. With influences including Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, The Felice Brothers, Mark Lanegan, the National, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, William Shatner, The Velvet Underground and The Wizard of Oz, there is a little bit of something for all who choose to be seated at The Agency….’s table.
“An English Velvet Underground for the 21st Century.” Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 6 Music.
“The Agency… are a Newcastle based band, trading, nominally in folk/rock, but such a label is a tad reductive in this case. They have the kind of listen-to-me intensity that Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds manage to conjure up…and the instrumentation is exemplary throughout. Incredibly rich, and with plenty of sweet melodies to boot, this is like sitting down with your favourite bar of quality dark chocolate.” Crack Magazine, 2012.
LINKS:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Agency/235291636504985
http://www.solarbearrecords.com/the-agency-of-ghosts
http://soundcloud.com/the-agency
