ADD Agency

Rock star. We all want to be one in some aspect of our life. How do you stroll people down memory lane while giving them something new? Will Mora of Add Agency gives us an answer with his new album 'Gemstone Radar'. It took him 3 years in making, but the 'Gemstone Radar 'album helps rock fans reminiscent about rock legends like David Bowie and LCD Soundsystem as the album brilliantly acknowledges 80’s pop influences while introducing listeners to digital age rock. The album really helps cross the generation gap with its sheer serendipity and raw talent.

Throughout the album we enjoy Will Mora’s outstanding vocals and talents with drums, bass, and guitar hooks. The one man band is so incredible, we don’t even question why Mora doesn’t have instrumentalists to help him produce great tracks. He just has what it takes to be a rockstar with distinct sounds of rock, dance and electronic styles. One of our favorite tracks from the 'Gemstone Radar' album is ‘Sex on the Side’, a relatable track for millennial music lovers about relationships we want more from but don’t pan out as we plan. Here is the listening session for Gemstone Radar. Below are cool facts about Will Mora:

He is part of a band called Morakestra.
He created the one man band, Add Agency, after watching the film ‘The Rocker’ where Emma Stone is the bassist in a factional band of the name A.D.D. and pays homage to Emma Stone in a track by her name right in his home studio. If you enjoy free-spirited sessions with exciting musical characters and colors, you’ll enjoy this sonic delight rock album. - By: Briana Booker. AXS Contributor. Oct 7, 2015

ADD Agency

By Dani Kowalczyk

“ADD Agency is an expression of sonic exploration and movement. These free spirited sessions were accomplished without hesitation or expectation… creating exciting musical characters and colors.” Will Mora, the ambidextrous and multi-instrument brainchild behind ADD Agency explains what was a side-project from another band. Inspired by an Emma Stone flick, this project has become an 11 track tribute to artistic exploration. Classified as a rock, electro-dance infusion, one could compare ADD Agency to the vocal qualities of Bowie, LCD Soundsystem, and dare I say a little bit of Joy Division? The music achieves a playful, sensual, and danceable sound reminiscent of what I imagine Manchester was like when Punk was alive and well and when Sex Pistols were relevant.

Starting off with “Bootypop,” one would be hard pressed to not think this album is off to a good start. One of my favorites is track 2, “Sex On The Side”. This is really, in my opinion, where the bass hits heavy and the slow grind tracks we love from Nine Inch Nails ooze out. “Set Me Free” speaks to these qualities just as you would expect, just as you desire. Then comes the more Michael Jackson influenced synth-pop tracks like “Don’t Shake the Boat” and “The Sky Won’t Fall”. I admire every track for its drive, motivation, and unique efforts; surely an impressive feat from Will Mora. Be sure to grab the full LP, out October 30! - Black On The Canvas. By Dani Kowalczyk . 10/21/15

Produced and recorded in a home studio in El Paso, Texas, ADD Agency's new album, Gemstone Radar, was mastered at the famed Abbey Road Studios in London. ADD Agency is Will Mora, who plays guitars, bass, keyboards and drums, along with performing all the vocals.
Mora does not look like an alternative rock musician or any kind of musician, for that matter. He sports a two hundred dollar haircut, a custom-tailored suit and a tie. In other words, he looks like "a suit", one those venture capitalists who run around making oodles of money, using other people's money and talent, or maybe a quant. Nevertheless, he is a musician and quite good.

ADD Agency's sound is nouveau-retro-1980s electro-pop, with influences from Devo, David Bowie and Michael Jackson. And every now and then, listeners might think they're hearing traces of The Tubes, but without the rock 'em sock 'em punch you might usually associate with The Tubes.

Gemstone Radar consists of eleven tracks and, frankly, three or four of them exhibit all the mediocrity of white bread. 'Motivation', 'Mermaid of White Sage', and 'Fame' are songs that, ultimately, provide little more than consternation about their inclusion on what, for the most part, is a decent album.

The first track, 'Bootypop', is aptly titled. It is bubble gum electro-pop dance music, replete with gushy-whispery vocals. And actually, although the previous description sounds really bad, it's fairly good; except, of course, for the robotic synthesizer solo, which simply doesn't fit. 'On the Side', for all intents and purposes, is David Bowie does Michael Jackson's 'Beat It'. Mora's voice is the spitting imitation of Bowie, up to and including the Brit's distinctive, stilted cadence, while the guitars, the beat and the melody sound like a futuristic clone of Jackson's more famous tune. And surprisingly, it works.

'Set Me Free', Mora does more of the same, only this time around the vocals resemble Michael Jackson's hiccuppy huskiness, whereas the bombastic beat and melody sound like Nine Inch Nails performing electro-pop. 'Don't Shake the Boat' is another Michael Jackson beat, which means the beat is contagious, along with vocals from the Mickey Mouse Club of the 1960s.

Mora's David Bowie imitation appears once again on 'Sky Don't Fall', which is sustained by a tinny beat and a mystical chorus. 'Secret Agent Man', has no relation to the famous song by Johnny Rivers. Too bad, because Mora's tune falls a little flat; it's too compromising, as if he couldn't commit to it. 'Paint It Black' is Mora's cover of the great Stones' song. Mora electrocutes the song with his electro-pop overcompensation and Bowie-like voice. The last song on the album, 'Cola', is one of the highlights of the album. The lyrics appear to give homage to Coca-Cola, while the beat fuses funk and electro-dance, with pleasant effect.

Gemstone Radar, even with the mimicry and electro-pop ambience, provides an honest listening experience. On the one hand, it's definitely bizarre; on the other hand, the bizarreness is decorative rather than pejorative. And Mora does keep the weirdness at acceptable levels, which makes Gemstone Radar strangely attractive.

3/5 - Contactmusic.com .By Randy Radic. 08 October 2015