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Natalie Gordon (vocals/guitar) and Lauren Hess (drums) had only been playing together for a week as Agent Ribbons before their first show. Hess describes it as a near-instant birth. “We had mutual friends,” she says. “Natalie heard I had just bought a drum set so she asked if I wanted to jam. We played a show the next week at the House of Shields in San Francisco.” This come-as-you-are attitude is still in full effect two years later for Agent Ribbons. They tend towards a beautiful disorder and randomness in their captivating live performances. “We’re not concerned with being technically right — we actually love being haphazard,” says Hess.

But Agent Ribbons is anything but aimless. As a nostalgic indie folk and cabaret jazz outfit based in Sacramento, it wasn’t difficult to stand out with Gordon’s flame red hair and honeyed yodels, and Hess’ better-than-Meg drumming. But Agent Ribbons had to work a bit harder to build a fan base outside the state’s capitol. “Networking is the most valuable tool a person can have when it comes to independently promoting and/or booking any musical or artistic venture,” Gordon says. “For our first tour, we started out simply contacting other intriguing and like-minded musicians throughout the state and requesting a spot on a local bill. We always offer to help other bands with booking and couches to sleep on too in the event that they might also be touring soon, and you usually end up making new friends.”

Culling their unique lost-in-time sound from female jazz vocalists and old garage-rock girl groups, Agent Ribbons are often compared to the folksy bluegrass duo The Ditty Bops, even down to their penchant for live theatrics. “People think we’re going to be this quiet band, but we are definitely not,” says Hess. “We try to bring a theatrical element to the stage. Sometimes we’re spot-on and sometimes we’re topsy-turvy, but we’re always charming.” Hess and Gordon make a point to perform side-by-side, recognizing the importance of playing off each other to create an engaging presence. Says Hess, “There are only two of us, so we try to cater to each other by playing non-typical rhythms in our live acts. Natalie will play a note, I’ll pause, then I’ll play a note — it’s very important that we see each other so that we can interact, otherwise our energy gets lost,” Hess says.

Songs are written with a similar dialogue. Gordon pens the often-narrative lyrics, usually during late-night writing sessions, but is quick to add that the songs are anything but complete until Hess has contributed. “Lauren plays drums in such a fun, unpredictable and musical way, and infuses each song with a wealth of nuance and personality. Countless times I have privately realized after playing with her that I had no idea what a particular song was even really about until she breathed life into it!”

So far, Agent Ribbons’ mutual collaboration has resulted in the debut full-length On Time Travel and Romance, a collection of upbeat baroque pop tunes, which on the surface are easily accessible and sweet to the ear, but upon closer inspection are built upon layers of complex emotions - desires, morbid thoughts and insecurities. “My favorite song on our full length is ‘Obituary,’” shares Gordon. “It’s a story narrated by a young bride that died in a fire, which killed only beautiful people. Her husband was lucky enough to be ugly so she seeks love after death in the obituaries, intending to haunt the town until her heart is at rest.” More recently, Agent Ribbons teamed up with Seven Inch Project to release 500 hand-numbered vinyl 7-inches, titled Agent Ribbons and the Star-Crossed Doppelganger, which holds two new and decidedly darker tracks, “The Wolf” and “That’s Not Edgar’s Heart.”

“A friend of mine once joked that songwriting is just a medium I use to set free my ‘inner Goth,’” says Gordon. “There’s probably some truth to that, but really we are very happy when creating this music.”

-- Veronica Young, PerformerMag.Com