2011 hasn’t been kind to Wexford’s The Rusty Fixtures. No sooner do they decide to concentrate on writing original material since forming in 2010, than a chunk of the band’s equipment is stolen and set on fire. Not stolen and kept. Not stolen and sold. No, stolen and set on fire. The reasons and background to this remain obscure, but nonetheless the denizens of the local area rallied around and the band re-tooled to finally record this eponymous six track EP in January of this year.
The EP kicks off with ‘Boots’, a lively country shuffle detailing the singer’s relationship with his high-maintenance woman – she has a penchant for spending all his dough, while he, raggedy-assed and broke, turns to the bottle. The tune rattles along at a lively pace…but wait…what’s this – oh no! – a cod-reggae breakdown! My reservations about this interlude aside, it’s during this breakdown that our man comes to his senses, dumps his girl and gets himself a “brand spanking new pair of boots.” Right on brother.
‘Junglemix’ is built around a folky guitar riff and brings in female vocalist Mary Kirwan on backing vocals. It’s quite repetitive both lyrically and musically, up until the rock out finale when both singers battle it out in some sort of harmony-off while the band seem to relish the chance to cut loose and crank up the volume. Kirwan takes lead vocal in the next track, ‘Bridge St. Blues’, a jazzy funk number about stalking, Facebook and otherwise. This one takes its cue from ‘Every Breath You Take’ by The Police and the subject matter is one we can all relate to. Anyone who claims otherwise is…well they’re just liars. Lead guitarist John Walshe provides an effective jazz-style solo while singer Brian Bolger’s soulful backing vocal lifts this above the average.
Another funk number follows in the form of ‘Gone Fishin’. The opening chords immediately embody a carefree come-what-may attitude. In terms of content it is a call for a simple communal lifestyle; here though, instead of dodging the police and the taxman, it’s the constant distractions of the electronic age. Really though, it’s about getting your hole. In any case, this is probably my favourite number on the EP. It’s fun, the organ solo is an unexpected splash of colour, and for some reason I imagine it to be sung by that mad Irishman in Braveheart. Lyrically these first four songs are perfect companion pieces: boy has girl – boy dumps girl – boy gets new girl – new girl is psycho stalker – boy dumps new girl and flies solo. New girl steals bands gear and sets it on fire. Just sayin’ like.
A definite Rory Gallagher influence is evident in hard blues number ‘The Carpenter’. The rhythm section of Kyle O’Connor and Rory Sweeney drive the song, a perfectly functional stadium rock type affair, much darker in tone than the preceding tracks with the singer admitting “my intentions are dirty, they are smothered in greed”. Final track ‘Chairs’, an emotive number propelled by a driving backbeat and ever-present acoustic strumming, isn’t unlike some early Stereophonics material, with flourishes of piano and female backing vocals filling out the arrangement. As a closer though it feels almost too earnest in comparison to what has gone before on the EP. But that’s none of my business really.
The Rusty Fixtures strike me as a band still searching for their own style. They flit between rock/funk/reggae/country/blues and as a result the EP doesn’t flow as it should. I’m guessing that the band is well-travelled on the pub circuit where all tastes have to be catered for, and as such this has informed their music. Bolger too is a very capable singer and one that this reviewer feels is still finding his own unique voice, one that we catch occasional glimpses of throughout the EP. Undeniably though there is a sense of infectious enjoyment in most of these songs, and lyrically they’re quite good fun so I’ll be interested to see how a full length album takes shape.
A stream/free download of The Rusty Fixtures EP is available at www.therustyfixtures.bandcamp.