Those familiar with the Newcastle music scene may already know Kate Edwards as the keyboardist of Brilliant Mind, but Agerskow, consisting of Kate Edwards and Miriam Bennett, is where she comes into her own, producing alluring and unaffected folk/indie rock.
Imagine if Joni Mitchell and Kate Rusby had a lovechild with a slight Yorkshire accent – down-to-earth yet impassioned lyrics, underpinned by dreamlike acoustic rock. A wide range of instruments permeate recordings, including, bizarrely enough, Kate’s brother “singing through his nose and putting loads of effects on it” on Grand Passions to produce a sound reminiscent of a mountain goat.
As a live act they are stripped back to the very folky combination of guitar, vocals and ‘cello, with Miriam’s swooping ‘cello directing the mood and lending a fantastic richness to the sound, well-balanced with Kate’s impressively clear and nimble vocals.
Photography by Ian West