Unplugged and In-Tune: New Rules Rounds off American Leg of Self-Titled Tour

Photo courtesy of Ali Fitzgerald // @alfitzpics

Those three boys from the United Kingdom and Ireland who occasionally pop up on your TikTok “for you page” singing songs about people’s names and pasta might just make your next Spotify wrapped.

Alec McGarry, Nathan Lambert, and Ryan Meaney bring a mix of musical inspirations, blending genres, and incorporating chilling three-part harmonies often compared to that of Crosby, Stills & Nash to create a sound that could only be unique to New Rules. The band brings an air of nostalgia for the 2010s pop bands we all know and love while adding their own spin to the genre. Their stage presence, harmonies, and connectedness to the audience often reminded me of bands I enjoyed in my childhood like One Direction and Five Seconds of Summer. 

McGarry at the Middle East on November 30; Courtesy of Isabella Cubba

“It’s kind of funny because we like a lot of the same stuff but then individually there’s always something we could draw from a little bit more,” said Meaney. Meaney claims some of his inspiration to come from artists like John Mayer, while McGarry draws from more folk artists like Bon Iver and Ben Howard, and for Lambert, The Beatles. 

The group all began their musical journeys separately by releasing covers and busking and have since brought that energy to the live spaces they performed on their tour.

“Someone will share something up front in the crowd and it’s not like we have to stick to our plan,” said Meaney, “We can just start busking something which brings it back full circle to where we started, taking requests from people on the street, there’s something kind of cool in that. It’s quite nice that everyone who's coming to a show knows that their show will be different for whatever reason.”

The group performed on November 30 at the Middle East in Cambridge, one of their stops on the American leg of their tour, and brought a unique energy to the stage. With nothing but their voices, a percussion pad, and three acoustics, they captivated the audience and created a high-energy atmosphere. Fans on either side of me screamed the lyrics to every song, cracking jokes with the band and talking about fan projects. There was such an authentic and genuine connection between the audience and the band, like a huge group of friends.  

“We always want someone to leave a New Rules gig feeling almost exhausted just because they’ve had so much fun and they’ve been screaming the lyrics to every song,” said McGarry, “We don’t want the fact that the gigs are currently on the three acoustics to take away from that. I don’t think they do.”

The environment of the gigs certainly reflected what they’d hoped from the packed venue of fans screaming every word to songs like “Happy Ever After You” and “Lucky Me” and inserting inside jokes: “It’s the Amanda show!”

Meaney at the Middle East on November 30; Courtesy of Isabella Cubba

The group has experience with producing their music by releasing rough demos and records, yet it’s clear that they truly enjoy everything that comes with the authentic nature of a stripped-down track. “The idea with that was to just let the songs speak for themselves a bit more. In the past we’ve overproduced things, and it’s been a fun show but it’s taken away from the music a little bit” said Meaney. 

While their music certainly curates a mix of musical inspirations, it has an overarching theme of mid-2000s nostalgia, drawing inspiration from Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, and John Mayer. Each member brings their own relationship with music into their writing.

McGarry attributes his introduction to music to his parents, saying his dad was in many bands growing up and introduced him to different artists. “My dad has this early iPod that was just stacked full of music, and he passed it onto me and I just rinsed it.”

Meaney has been immersed in music his entire life. “I’m from quite a musical Irish family,” said Meaney, joking about how the name of his family group chat is the von Trapps. “It makes us seem like we’re all good singers, we’re not,” he laughs. “It’s kind of in the family which is quite nice, any sort of family gathering we’re always playing guitars. We’re obsessed with music.” When he began to find his own sound, he started to post covers online and from there, band member Lambert found him and McGarry. 

Lambert had been in another band for a few years prior to New Rules and had begun writing again after his time with the band. 

“We met through writing initially, and then we realized we wrote good songs together and we sounded good together and we thought we should probably make this a band,” said McGarry.

Lambert at the Middle East on November 30; Courtesy of Isabella Cubba

While the three bring different genres and inspirations to their work, somehow they’re able to incorporate everyone's ideas and blend them together seamlessly. “When we’re writing at home the three of us will just sit down with our acoustics in a little triangle,” said McGarry, “We want it to sound like New Rules always, and that comes from us just sitting and jamming, but it is quite subliminal because we’re just listening to music all the time in the house,” said Meaney.

Upon writing together, the trio began to release content on TikTok, catering their songs toward different names mentioned in the comment sections. After a quick rise to fame stemming from this idea, the three released their song “Emily” in 2020.

“We wanted to make sure we were showcasing our writing and musicality no matter what we did on TikTok, and that was a fun way to do all of that,” said Meaney.

Since their TikTok fame, the band released their single “Pasta,” which has since reached 18,245,456 streams. Soon after, “Late in the Evening,” was released, leaning into their three part harmonies and seeking to create an “organic and homegrown” sound. The song was written alongside Jamie Scott. The UK and Ireland can expect to see them next over January and February as legs of their European tour.

While the trio has truly enjoyed performing, they could not be more thankful for their fans, which is evident by the time they spend meeting each and every one of them before and after shows.  “A lot of our fans are losing their voices at our shows, and it feels like a family and a community at our shows. All of our fans are so lovely,” said McGarry, “We love to spend time with the fans too just hanging out whether that’s before or after a show. We try and meet everyone that comes to a show.