Music
11 Oct 11

Flame On

He’s been away, now he’s back. Straight outta Dundalk, Stewart Agnew returns with plans to give his competition a run for their money.

Upon meeting Stewart Agnew, an Irish singer-songwriter of note for a decade, you immediately find a man of quiet confidence. Reflective, considered and content, he’s preparing to re-enter the fray with Hello Bright Spark, his first outing in seven years.

“My third album is a long time coming,” he acknowledges. “But for me, it’s my best writing to date. I put everything into this record. I’m pretty much in debt over it. But I really wanted to give it everything.”
His belief in this true labour of love is borne out of years of experience on the Irish circuit, the proper time, care and attention that went into it, and the wizened vets he worked with.
“I did the Songs From The Gas Station in Toronto with Ron Sexsmith. I had a fantastic time with it but I’d toured the life out of myself. I came away thinking that I wanted to improve. Listening back, there were things I could’ve done differently. So I held those for the third album. That the production was good. That the songs were right. And I didn’t want to rush into it.”
Production came from Roger Bechirian, a man who has everyone from Elvis Costello to Bell X1 on his CV. Then he had the likes of Lou Natkin – an old mate of Brian Wilson, Joan Jett and The Monkees – chiming in.
“I was searching for the right person to produce. Finally I got in touch with Roger. It definitely took it to another level.”
Considering he’d been on the fringes for so long, it all came together remarkably quickly. Decamping to Westmeath in May, they recorded it over an 18-day period.
“Something really special happened down at the Grouse Lodge,” Agnew says. “It’s a beautiful spot. I’d always dreamed about going there. You get away for 18 days, you’re fed, you’re watered…”
By ‘watered’, we guess he means the Guinness on tap…
“Guinness on tap!” he laughs. “The ‘Honesty Bar’ they call it. You go in and mark down how many pints you’ve taken and fix up at the end.”
The perfect place to cajole Lou Natkins into sharing a few old war stories.
“There were plenty but I’m not sure he’d appreciate me telling you! There was one occasion where he was in the recording studio doing a Monkees session. I think he was pretty ‘unwell’ at the time, so he was forced to do all his guitar parts lying on his back!”
Agnew had no such problems this summer. The results are decidedly poppy and broad in appeal – Hello Bright Spark brims with hopeful hooks and wears its sharp, focused pop brevity as a badge of honour.
“I really loved being in the studio,” he proffers. “I got into my box and strapped on my guitar. It was a very easy process. I wanted it to happen organically, and while I didn’t expect it to be as ‘poppy’ as it became, I knew I wanted that rootsy folk feel. Tom Waits, Springsteen, Dylan – they were the influences.”
Agnew values that old analogue feel, artists of real substance and longevity. Songwriting as a craft. It takes time to write a song that’s timeless. The far off dream is to create work of such power that one man and his guitar can hold the attention of thousands. At the end of the day, everybody wants to be the Boss.
“People like Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen are really in it for the music, the art. I love that approach and I try to bring that element into everything I do.
“The Devils & Dust tour in the Point was my favourite Springsteen show. It was acoustic, stripped back. It was stunning to see a man up there on his own and 7,000 people being absolutely still, listening intently and enjoying every second. That went on for two or three hours! That took me aback.”
The immediate aim of Hello Bright Spark, however, is to place Agnew alongside his contemporaries at the top table of Irish music.
“The scene is extremely healthy,” he says. “You’ve Villagers, Mick Flannery, Damien Dempsey, Duke Special – who’s a really good friend of mine. With Duke, we were out on the road together years ago when he was just starting off and it’s amazing to see how far that man has come. That’s what I want. To really establish myself with my peers. My name to be recognised.”