Building Prisons

Building Prisons is a post-rock project from Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. Rory Mc Donagh (guitar), Peter Denton (guitar), Johno Leader (bass) and Paddy Fitzhenry (drums) name bands like Maybeshewill, This Will Destroy You and Russian Circles as their influences. Their self-titled debut EP makes you want to hear more.

What I particularly like about the EP is the almost homely atmosphere. Embedded in Paddy's precise drumming, pretty melodies are emerging that culminate in dramatic guitar sounds. The melodic parts of the first song ("The Mistakes We Make") are alternated by heavier touches, only to find themselves in calm soundscapes afterwards.

I'm driving through a summer landscape where glistening sunlight is in a battle with frequent rain showers. The rainbows are repeatedly obscured by heavy, steely clouds – in the end, they prevail.

Building Prisons introduce themselves

Building Prisons's self-titled debut EP. Suddenly the fog clears, a flock of birds passes by on the horizon. They are settling in a field on their journey north, listening to the wind rushing over their heads.

I am so excited that I'm hardly noticing that I'm already listening to the second song ("Agent Orange"). The stylistic device of replacing vocals with instruments, which is typical for the genre, has worked out fabulously here. The song is a bit more driving, almost a bit funky. In any case, it stays in clear contrast to the first piece on the record. With its 4:29, it is short and concise. Towards the end, it even gets a bit punky – I like it!

It continues with the third track – "Requiem". Do I hear a bit of The Cure sound here? On it goes on in this low and soulful frequency. Is this the peaceful rest before the next storm?

A great debut EP

"Trench" is a worthy finale for an excellent debut record and maybe my favourite on "Building Prisons". The band shows a whole new face in this track – hard and well-composed. There comes the wall of guitars I was hoping for! The middle part sounds almost a bit math-rocky – the song will definitely be part of one of my next playlists! There's even some stadium rock feeling at the very end, which ends in a dramaturgically clever set fade-out.

All in all, the EP is almost like a medley. It is a pleasant foretaste of what we will hopefully hear from Building Prisons – a colourful palette with an open ending. A talented instrumental band that knows what good music should sound like.

You can listen to Building Prisons' debut at all known streaming services – you have my recommendation.

Building Prisons – "The Mistakes We Make"