Fixtures- Hollywood Dog (art by K. Liakos)

After years of homemade tapes and EPs, Brooklyn mainstays Fixtures have finally dropped a full length album, and it packs a punch. Hollywood Dog was recorded and mixed at a combination of Greenpoint’s Studio G (Jeff Berner), Black Dirt Studios (Jason Meager), and Ardent Studios (Mike Wilson), and mastered by Sarah Register. 

It begins with horn laden “21/1,” birthed from a dream visit from the late Sam Jayne who named the track himself, about which lead singer K. Liakos has said “I wanted to give the pretty song to him.” The record is out the gate rather quickly with “Jimmy Needs the Money” and “Bull of Heaven,” setting the tone at chaotic and darkly fun. “No One Calls Me Al” was re-mixed for this record after its previous life as a secret track; kind of New Order if it was on a speeding train careening towards a bottomless ravine. 

All that momentum builds into “Song of Last Summer” which is now technically Song of Last Last Last Summer, a callback to protests of 2020 that will get stuck in your head for several reasons. The autobiographical “I Keep Getting Murdered in My Sleep” has one of the catchiest refrains I’ve heard in a while, with bass player Jason McGuire holding down a bomb riff throughout. Hollywood Dog rounds itself out with “21/1 (Reprise),” bookending a tribute to friends loved and lost. 

Fixtures (photo by Brianna DiGioia)

Now a six-piece, Fixtures has expanded sonically, but the clever songwriting has remained at the forefront, sharp edged but sincere. It’s deep but uncomplicated (you can sing along to the title track the first time you hear it!); dark, but fun as hell. A co-release on Bobo Integral and Naturally Records, go give it a listen and feel less alone.

Find Fixtures on Bandcamp and Instagram.