I Ignite – These Lessons Learned
I Ignite is a four piece alternative rock band hailing from Long Island, NY. They have multiple releases under their belt and each one gets better and better. I Ignite released their newest EP, “These Lessons Learned” in 2017. The band’s Facebook bio states that “they capture the ups and down of the their past few years in this brand new, passionately heavy collection of material” with this new EP. Each single that I Ignite released in promotion of “These Lessons Learned” caught the attention of many and became prominent in the Long Island music scene!
I Ignite pays homage to bands like Story of the Year, A Day to Remember and Four Year Strong when discussing their major influences. The first song on “These Lessons Learned”, Thank You, is a prime example of these influences. The song starts off with the soft strum of the guitar, something that is heard often in ADTR and Rise Against songs. Just like those bands, I Ignite turns up it up and shows off their amazing alternative /pop punk sound. I especially love the verses of this song. The instrumentals remind me so much of a Four Year Strong or Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! song. The heavy baseline and fast paced drumming are killer!
Something that is note worthy on “These Lessons Learned” is the way I Ignite is able to play two different sounds through their instrumentals. I love that they are able to add heavier and darker guitar chords and baseline on songs like Frenemy, Preacher, and Bonds We Break and incorporate more upbeat, Pop Punk instrumentals on songs like The Life I Live, Pick Myself Up and Thank You. It’s awesome to hear a variation of sounds and tempo on an album instead of hearing the same baseline and guitar chords on each song!
Three songs on “These Lessons Learned” that really stand out to me are The Life I Live, Bonds We Break, and Pick Myself Up; the final three songs on the EP. The Life I Live features Matthew Van Rossem of GutterLIFE, another Long Island native band. This song is infectious; it will have crowds screaming at the top of their lungs and dancing like crazy. “You have the right to be the person that you see living out your wildest dreams, don’t let them go just ‘cause they said so!” Bonds We Break is definitely the most hardcore song on the EP. I Ignite shreds on this song! The dark guitar chords and heavy drumming compliments the singing/screaming vocals so well, and the breakdown is brutal! I can’t wait to be in the crowd when they play this song at Great South Bay Music Festival!
I Ignite ends the six song EP with Pick Myself Up, my favorite song on “These Lessons Learned”. I was immediately hooked on this song from the second I first heard it. Anyone that knows me knows that I love a good alternative/punk instrumental with an awesome mix of singing and screaming vocals. I Ignite successfully incorporated all of their influences on this song and have created this sick sound! “These Lessons Learned” is without a doubt a high quality EP. The guys of I Ignite proved their worth with this one and are showing no signs of letting up! Make sure to check out I Ignite at one of their upcoming shows, and give their music a listen on the blog’s Spotify playlist; After Hours Review!
Upcoming Shows
May 26th – 89 North in Patchogue, NY
July 12th – Great South Bay Music Festival in Patchogue, NY