The Rusty Fixtures are a five piece band from Wexford made up of Brian, Mary, John, Rory and Kyle, the gang got together in 2010 and have been performing and gigging ever since, even when their equipment was stolen and burned, the guys kept it together and pursued their musical careers.
I’m always delighted to discover and be told about new music (being told is so much easier cos I’m kinda useless at finding it myself!), I welcome artists and bands contacting me to talk about their music but when I came across The Rusty Fixtures I was at first a little perplexed!
Straight off the bat this really didn’t fit with what at this stage I considered to be my musical taste but for some reason I found myself enjoying it and even after two or three repeats it hadn’t frayed or bored me. The six track EP which is simply entitled ‘The Rusty Fixtures EP’ is an eclectic mix of indie, folk and alternative rock and with some country and reggae thrown in for good measure.
So if I’ve covered alternative and indie music before why aren’t these guys fitting into my acoustic niche? Well that’s easy! They don’t exactly fit under these umbrella terms, yeah they certainly have elements of the genres but their sound is something very unique. You wouldn’t be too far wrong if you compared them to the likes of ‘Mumford and Sons’, ‘Counting Crows’ or even ‘The Coronas’ but they didn’t mimic the style of these bands by any means!
The first track featured on the EP is ‘Boots’ and probably the easiest to identify the reggae influence with:
Upbeat, lively and only a teaser of what is bundled up inside the EP, ‘Boots’ is a catchy ditty that demonstrates the vocal talents of Brian while masking Mary’s until later in the EP. Everything about this track reminds me of burnt orange skies, warm breezes and the perfect Irish summer that has escaped us as a country for a long time.
‘Boots’ is followed by our favourite track on the EP, ‘Junglemix’, I’m still trying to figure out why it’s called that but nevertheless, track no. 2 is a perfect blend the soft whispering voice of Mary and the heavy and raw vocals of Brian – no exaggeration here, it is a little intoxicating but then you add in the beautiful rhythms and the key strokes and you’ve got yourself this amazing song.
You can’t stop after track 2 though because straight after it you are treated to ‘Bridge St. Blues’ and this is where Mary has a chance to shine on her own. When backing Brian on the other tracks in the EP her style is very different to how she performs on this track, taking a back seat to Brian’s vocals on the others here she outshines him by showing her true colours. Her own voice has a heavy smoky tone to it, with the lyrics puffed softly and methodically – where Brian has the coarse edge, Mary has smooth power.
After a few plays of the EP it finally dawned on me why I was really getting into the music! There is some serious soul behind every song, this is what Brian, Mary, John, Rory and Kyle were born to do because they do it so well! The Rusty Fixtures haven’t imitated or copied, they have prepared, practised and crafted their own unique sound.
Everything from the guitars, keys and drums to the vocals all fight against each other but in doing so they blend together to form this infectious music that is nearly impossible to peg down style wise! If you’re looking for something different, something with some serious heart, if you want to find some new talent or are looking for something to accompany you on a summer roadtrip then The Rusty Fixtures are what you need!
The full EP breakdown:
1. Boots
2. Junglemix
3. Bridge St. Blues
4. Gone Fishin’
5. The Carpenter
6. Chairs
For more information on The Rusty Fixtures and to stay up to date with news about the band please click the links below:
If you’d like to download the EP you can do so for free click the link below:
Editor-in-Chief, part-time super villain and hoarder of cats. If you can’t find me writing, I’m probably in the kitchen!
