Personnel:

Lead vocals - Lil Gibbard
Guitar and backing vocals - Chris Murphy
String arrangements - Chris Murphy & Dominic Farrand

Recorded and Engineered by Dominic Farrand
Produced by Arcana Valley and Dominic Farrand
Written by Chris Murphy

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This is about the voice of a friend to someone struggling with their self-esteem. Someone who's unnecessarily hard on themselves - a person with too much of a conscience and who is obsessed by the mistakes they've made. There are always things that cannot be undone and it's these which this person ruminates on to the point of madness. A 'Sympathy Agent'
is a 'friend'.  To "be there when your heart receives a dent".

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If you stare hard, the broken circle seems to be complete
If you curl up, problems you have might cease to be

Here beneath this cherry sky the truth is far more sheer
In your mind bright portraits of mistakes you made so clear

If you laugh loud, might forget that you no longer fit
Don’t look down, the tightrope that you walk on might have split

Here beneath this cherry sky the truth is far more sheer
In your mind bright portraits of mistakes you made so clear

If you think now, most of your decisions have been blessed
Don’t break down, history will reveal this was a test

Here beneath this cherry sky the truth is far more sheer
In your mind bright portraits of mistakes you made so clear

I could be your sympathy agent
Be there when your heart receives a dent

Sympathy Agent

A fantasy in which I manage to recover a gold ring lost by my Welsh Grandfather in El Paso, Texas in 1982. 

There is a gnawing sense that it probably still exists somewhere and in some form. Despite his best efforts he never recovered it.

The thought that I could never really lay this to rest means I have to at least air the subject by way of song.

Was Lost, Now Found - live studio demo

This is about how an agitated mind can completely trash any possibility of a restful night.  Intended to be the 2nd part of an EP that carries a narrative about crime and remorse.

The Dead And The Innocent - live studio demo

'Arcana Valley' is the title of the folk acoustic solo album by Chris Murphy from Sheffield, UK. The songs are about displacement, fantasy, the sea and forests as well as odes to friends. Songs that are turbulent, dark but essentially optimistic. The recording 'Sympathy Agent' features the excellent Lil Gibbard on vocals. The album is scheduled for release in 2018.

Chris Murphy - 'Arcana Valley' album coming 2018