The Ignorance EP is the third release from Dublin four-piece The Kybosh. It’s a three track EP clocking in at just over ten minutes. This is a tight and well thought out set of songs which displays clear 80’s post-punk influences and owes a big debt to revivalists of the genre like Interpol. There are good dense and interesting textures with plenty of spiky guitar parts interweaving and entwining nicely throughout the songs with syncopated off-beat riffing from guitarists Donal Cumiskey and Brian Higgins.
The EP kicks off strongly with the track Sunless which features some nice builds in dynamics and layers with short contrasting quiet and sparse sections as well. It’s quite a bright song with some lovely uplifting guitar hooks but could use a bit more energy and passion.
The middle track Ignorance, which lends its name to the EP, is the highlight of the record. An excellent “kick in the teeth” track with quite cutting lyrics including the line “deafened by the truth and blinded by the light” and lots of interesting background sounds with a good chorus, it’s a perfect climax in the middle of the record.
The final track of the EP, Rise goes for a darkly anthemic sound with defiant lyrics and there are some nice crescendos on this track as well, particularly leading into the last minute of the track. This almost takes the EP overall to a breathless conclusion but it fades out. A grander finish would have worked better I feel as the fade takes away from what could have been a great ending.
As a whole, there is an overriding feeling of edginess and tense paranoia throughout the EP but it ends up feeling somewhat forced. As with a lot of post-punk there are parts which are dull, even over a tightly focused three song EP. Overall, the band seems too reliant on their influences and use of post-punk stock sounds. The EP as a whole sounds too much like an Interpol record for my liking. There is certainly potential here but for me it just didn’t hit the spot.