Fontaines D.C. Are Back and Better Than Ever With New Album, Romance
If Romance is a place, then let’s say I never want to leave. With their fourth studio album, Romance, Irish rock group Fontaines D.C. have smashed expectations with their flawless record. Released on 23 August, 2024 the group has generated incredible build-up to the release date and the record did not disappoint.
Something Fontaines has always been strong in is their ability to grow within their music. Each album introduces new ideas and development of their own, unique sound. Romance shifts away from the post-punk sound of Dogrel and A Hero’s Death and expands on the alt-rock and gothic pop sound the band began to explore in Skinty Fia. This tone shift also comes with the arrival of a new producer on their projects, recruiting James Ford to aid the band. Ford has previously worked with Gorillaz, Arctic Monkeys, and other alternative rock legends.
The opening track of the album, similarly titled Romance, is a beautiful introduction to the journey of the album. The sound feels deeper and bigger and echoes a similarity to the 2022 Arctic Monkeys album, The Car, whom Fontaines opened for in 2023, possibly drawing some inspiration from the acclaimed rock group. Romance is beautifully haunting, and an incredible opener to the record.
“Into the darkness again, In with the pigs in the pen, God knows I love you, Screws in my head, I will be beside you, ‘Til you’re dead”…“And maybe romance is a place, yeah, Maybe romance is a place, yeah, Maybe romance is a place, For me and you.” While the title insinuates a positive, romantic tune, the darker, gothic sounds brings the listener to a deeper experience, a more eccentric point of view arises from the unconventional sound.
The new era of Fontaines D.C. began with the lead single, Starburster, released in April 2024, having the group make their return with new music with an absolute bang. Starburster is a funky, rock/disco track, much different to the sounds of their previous album, Skinty Fia. The highlight of Starburster is not only the lyrics but the dramatic gasps throughout the song. Grian Chatten, lead singer of Fontaines D.C., shared the song is based on an experience he had having a panic attack in a tube station in London. The deep, choking breaths throughout the record build the feeling of anxiety and intensity as Chatten continues.
And Starburster wouldn’t be a Fontaines tune without the typical enigmatic lyrics, and odes to social diaspora. “I wanna strike with the SAG, I need the friends from it, I want a shot in the dark, I wanna make the mark, I want to live the arc, I call the ends on it, I wanna take the truth without a lens on it, My God given insanity, it depends on it,” Chatten sings.
Some of the strongest tracks on the record are Desire, and Death Kink. The fourth track on the album, Desire is a more punk/alternative sounding tune, with the vocal of Chatten ringing strong, but with a louder backing vocal which coats the listener in an immersive listening experience. In Death Kink, the band returns to a heavier, rock sound with Chatten quickly running through lyrics followed by a strong rhythm guitar.
Rounding out the record, Sunburner, and Horseness is the Whatness stand out as well. With Sunburner featuring vocals from not only Chatten, but also lead vocals from guitarist Conor Curley the song grasps on a new sound and intriguing the listener. Switching the pace, Horseness is the Whatness (the namesake inspired by James Joyce’s novel, Ulysses) is a deeply moving song that exudes a genuine beauty. The song was seemingly woven in love as the music features the heartbeat of band member Carlos O’Connell’s daughter as Chatten questions what really makes the world go round.
Romance is arguably one of the most well-thought-out and produced albums of the last year, if not of the last decade. An absolutely beautiful piece of art and composition, and is sure to set the band up to become a household act.
