I Wouldn’t Trade That for Anything

admin — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 02:52:00 +0000

I didn’t know what I was in for when I agreed to review Agent’s I Wouldn’t Trade That for Anything. Self described as melodic hardcore, rooted firmly in the Long Island sound, but strongly influenced by '90s indie rock bands like Braid, my initial response was mixed. The music has a very punk feeling to it - hard driving guitar riffs with vocals that were barely audible unless you turn up the volume to ear-splitting decibels that could permanently alter your eardrums. As someone who is old enough to remember the emergence of the punk scene in the late seventies, the band has a retro feeling, but with an updated grunge outlook.

After a second listen, I found that it was starting to grow on me, although I still wished the vocals weren’t so muted. True to its punk roots, the songs were short and quick and seemed to almost merge into each other into one long continuous, but not monotonous offering.

After reading the titles of the songs, I surmised why the lyrics were somewhat inaudible with titles like “Anywhere is Better than Here,” “Trying My Best,” “This is Getting Old,” and “Too Close for Comfort.” In spite of the angst that is suggested by these titles, I found that the music had a certain energy and originality to it that I found refreshing. Check it out if you’re willing to crank up the volume and turn down the lyrics.

Written by: Gita Tewari, April 20th 2007

Divorce Songs

admin — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 04:03:00 +0000

By United States

Iron Pier

With a title like Divorce Songs, I expected the music on this album to represent feelings of separation or disunion, and United States did not disappoint. The Brooklyn post-punk band, which is likened to Fugazi, Cursive and Sonic Youth, presents eight jagged anthems about struggling and surviving in the city. Most tracks on the album are hard and rough in a punk kind of way, but the music slows down a bit for "Grand Stand." This song has an extended instrumental intro and softer vocals.

Speaking of vocals, they’re pretty good—strong, masculine and exuding the kind of force one might expect from a dissonant-type group. At the same time, the vocals push just above angst so that they teeter towards maturity. As far as lyrics and any messages the band is trying to send, some are admittedly beyond my comprehension. However, my favorite lines are these: “I want to save the union from this state of disrepair. And I’ll sing it like I mean it until I really care.”

Written by: Sharon R. Cole, March 25th 2007