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Agent

I Wouldn't Trade That for Anything
2006
Iron Pier

Agent - I Wouldn't Trade That for Anything (Cover Artwork)

Review by: Ben_Conoley
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Published on November 28th 2006

Well I’ll be damned if I shouldn’t just up and move to Long Island tomorrow. If I wasn’t afraid of telling my parents that I dropped out of college to go live in one of the most exciting musical locales in America I just might do it.

Who are we kidding here, that’s a lie. I’d be afraid to tell my mother I skipped class, let alone dropped out to mosh. But if I just had to move anywhere, Long Island would be right up there, partially due to the music coming out of it, and Agent is no exception.

It would be easy to slam Agent on sounding a lot like their influences -- mainly Lifetime, Braid, and early Saves the Day -- if they didn’t wear them so proudly on their sleeves. Agent’s proper debut EP, I Wouldn’t Trade That for Anything is in all likelihood the best melodic hardcore album you’ll hear this year. Agent’s music sounds similar to their hometown friends Latterman, but vocally they come off sounding a lot more like the aforementioned influences creating an unexpectedly refreshing blend.

With only five songs clocking in at just over 13 minutes, I Wouldn’t Trade That for Anything seems to rush by all too quickly, unfortunately. “Anywhere Is Better Than Here” comes in tied with the EPs last song, “Too Close for Comfort,” as the album’s best tracks. Both songs share relentless energy and shout-along chorus opportunities. The second and third songs, “I’m Fucking Sick of People Leaving and Not Saying Goodbye” and “Trying My Best,” respectively, are good enough in their own right, but come off a little rushed, with the former being only a minute long. To the band’s credit, they’re heavier songs and work well enough within the time given, but Agent is clearly able to write songs over three minutes and still convey the same kind of urgency and energy.

Lyrically, I Wouldn’t Trade That for Anything focuses on being stuck either with yourself and your decisions you’ve made or the city you live in. However, optimism comes through towards the end when on “Too Close for Comfort,” vocalist Keith Pilson sings, “Ideas are being realized / We’re human beings, we can find something new to see, or say something not said / Tomorrow is a brand new day, and I’m through with sleeping where I lay.” Plus, any band that has lyrics about the virtues of bike rides automatically get a big thumbs up from me, but Agent doesn’t even need that kind of crutch to win in my books.

I Wouldn’t Trade That for Anything is a stunning debut that deserves to be in your collection.

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Posted by robyourselfblind on 2008-02-03 14:07:23
My Score:

take it from someone who lives here, the long island scene blows.

there are a minority of good bands like your agents, crime in stereos, etc.

The thing is, for ever single one of the good bands we have here, there are about 250 horrible bands that all look the same, sound the same, and induce the same taste of vomit in my mouth.

the scene where exciting new music was coming out here died quite a long time ago, probably about the time brand new put out their first album.

that being said, this album is pretty sick.

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, December 18, 2006 at 10:21 AM (EST)
My Score:

Posted by onegirlarmy on 2006-12-18 03:34:18

Wow, this drummer is HORRIBLE. They would be pretty sweet if they had a solid rhythm section.

They're young kids, he's probably still learning. Geez, calm down.

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, December 11, 2006 at 2:17 PM (EST)
My Score:

"very li" fuck you when is ripping off a bunch of non-LI bands a good thing and when does it allow you to call it LI? fuck 'em

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 8, 2006 at 3:22 PM (EST)

"this band is so awesome. the tall guitar player is really hot. i'd really like him to devirginize me. i havent been with a guy since coming out of the closet. i'd like him to be my first" It's people like you who should never, ever be allowed to look at punknews.org. Fucking annoying transparent kids like you are the bane of all existence.

Posted by rearanged3 on 2006-12-05 11:19:46

the move to long island thing is simply so stupid

Posted by BisonChris on 2006-12-04 21:24:19

fuck long island

Posted by FishBulb on 2006-11-30 23:17:13
My Score:

Score is for wanting to move to Long Island. Seriously, just b/c there's a small handful of decent bands, doesn't mean the scene here is amaizng. In fact, it's pretty fucking bad, with all the Brand New/TBS carbon copies. And the metalcore...God, the metalcore!

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 30, 2006 at 7:13 PM (EST)

Wow, this drummer is HORRIBLE. They would be pretty sweet if they had a solid rhythm section.

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 30, 2006 at 2:38 PM (EST)

Orange?

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 30, 2006 at 10:56 AM (EST)

suprisingly awesome. i loves me some well placed off-pitch singing. seriously.

-mybulldogfront

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 30, 2006 at 8:27 AM (EST)
My Score:

this band is so awesome. the tall guitar player is really hot. i'd really like him to devirginize me. i havent been with a guy since coming out of the closet. i'd like him to be my first

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at 9:34 PM (EST)
My Score:

one of the best bands

Posted by randomhero323 on 2006-11-29 20:33:56
My Score:

this band is so fucking good.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at 1:08 AM (EST)
My Score:

This band is great and i am pumped to see them in albany. i also gave it a good review.

Posted by pipedown on 2006-11-28 22:20:29

this band is amazing
honestly so good

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 at 6:13 PM (EST)

the members of this band look like varying results of fetal alcohol poisoning.

Posted by boba_fett on 2006-11-28 17:35:24
My Score:

sounds a LOT like cant slow down std. i love it.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 at 5:07 PM (EST)
My Score:

justavisual.net will have some photos soon
- Darren

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 at 12:50 PM (EST)
My Score:

great cd release show

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 at 9:37 AM (EST)

So good to hear something this fresh, this reminds me of the first time I listened to can't slow down by Saves the Day, Ithought stuff like this was all but dead.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 at 8:59 AM (EST)

love the cover. i feel like its my photo.

Posted by onegirlarmy on 2006-11-28 01:03:32
My Score:

Nice review. I've only heard a couple songs off this EP, but the Agent demo is great. I plan on picking this up when I see Agent with Take My Chances in a couple of weeks.

Posted by dreux on 2006-11-28 01:01:36
My Score:

Very LI and very good.

Posted by inagreendase on 2006-11-28 00:31:37
My Score:

This band/EP is so fucking good, and the demo was great too. Definitely the most promising LI band to pop up in a while. Can't wait for the full-length.

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