Customer Reviews

Agency

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have not heard organic rock and roll this compelling in quite some time. Not too raw, not too polished, just a real band that obviously has it together. Pro Tools has no plug in called "tight", "groove", or "vibe"... Digital production can create interesting aural pallettes, but it can never duplicate the aura, authenticiy or excitement of a real band. Agency ooooozes REAL.. Impressive debut.. Reminds me a bit of an early U2 album. Has a similar fight, urgency, and sense of cause.. I too heard them on a podcast called Luna Musings..

This is one of the most powerful albums I've heard in a long time. The music speaks on so many levels- raw emotion, political angst, human injustice, spirituality, & so much more. I'm addicted to the CD and it travels between my car and home so I can get my fix when I'm jonesing for a certain tune. I was able to get to the release party in Asbury Park and they were fabulous live, incorporating a conga drum and doing some awesome improvisational bits. This CD rocks in so many ways and I'm grateful I got turned onto to Agency!

Agency is the kind of band that gets you hooked. This CD is top-notch in the sense that every song is excellent, and most all have the potential to get gloriously stuck in your head. Sexy lead vocals, backed by awesome guitar, bass and drums, combined with superlative musicianship and songwriting make for an impressive debut. This is my favorite CD at the moment, and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great new band that will not only rock your world, but steal your heart as well.

I heard one of their tunes on a podcast a couple weeks ago and was hooked. I ended up being one of the hundreds of people at their record release party this past Saturday. AGENCY blew me away...I bought the record immediately and its been on at my desk at work since then. This album is a diamond in the rough...a winner!

There's something brewing again in Asbury Park. Bands like AGENCY and Days Awake are drawing big crowds to revitalized clubs like The Wonder Bar and The Stone Pony, and Asbury Park-based AERIA Records is have success signing local artists and putting out strong product. The city and the music scene are getting back on their feet.

Anthemic guitar-driven energy is what you get from AGENCY on their debut album. Think U2 fronted by Jim Kerr of Simple Minds if you need a guidepost, but the band has their own sound, and it's not one heard in these parts very often. AGENCY may be a local band, but this is not local music. Songs like "Dissolve" and "Observation" are world class, and deserve a wide audience.

Don't look now, but the storied history of NJ rock may be starting a new chapter. It should be an interesting summer in Asbury Park.

Emotional - Hard-Hitting - Groovin' - Transcending - Touches on both the human and spiritual level - a great rock album!
These are but a few words that I can use to decribe this release and this band. Like the reviewer before me said, this album is not that raw nor over embelished - to me, simply, this is Agency, this is their sound and this is their performance captured and presented very nicely! For a debut album released on a Indie label it stands shoulders above any major label competition and the reason I could say that is because when you listen to this band and when you listen to the album and when you listen to the songs and lyrics, Agency is not delivering fluff, they are delivering what has become something of a dying breed in todays modern rock, and that is music which delivers a real message, about real human and emotional and spiritual depths.

There are echos of U2, I also hear echos of the poetic side of Jim Morrison here, but ultimatley, Agency is in their own league with their own sound. Brian Saint's vocals are powerfully smooth, haunting and sexy. The guitar work by Michael Scotto here is blistering and inventive! TONES that range in echoed-revered trance to jangled-hard edge distortion.
And all of which are backed by the powerfully distinct groove- box bass tones of Michael Thompson. Joe Savio is a wonderfully hard-hitting (and jazzy!)drummer. Every song on this album is a highlight and has grown on me.
I had the pleasure of receiving an advance copy of this album and had attended the Agency record release party on March 4, 2005 in Asbury Park, NJ.
What I had witnessed that evening was something very special,not only in the perfomance of the band, but the way the music captivated the audience. I think everybnody in the room that night was feeling the same thing - that we were all a part of something very special. And that is what this album and this band emulates.
Being a musican and a fan of music on all levels, I want to tell everybody I know to go and get this album and immerse yourself in Agency!

(A gem)

Sgt.Mattaliano / State of N.J.