Fontaines D.C. - Romance

Punk Rock – Released August 23, 2024 – 11 songs, 36 mins

LUNDI

*Repeats last weeks opening paragraph on the return of rock music in 2024*

… and somehow it keeps getting better! Shifting slightly from England to Ireland this week TSR welcomes Fontaines D.C. and their freshly pressed record Romance. 

Romance is an ode to rock music, even if it is completely unintentional. The bands third album is a cohesive mixture of all what makes rock great as it spans through uses of stadium rock swan songs, shoegazey guitars and vocals, dream pop synths and sampling, commercial rock string sections and lo-fi distortion. Despite touching on nearly every subset, the album never feels clunky, instead it lands as futuristic and dystopian. Extremely tight yet diverse and distinct. The versatility of the band is on full display as they knock each track out of the park resulting in a no skips 11 track effort that comes in at a cool 37 minutes.

There’s a quiet confidence from the band led by an almost surely future iconic frontman in Grian Chatten. His seemingly effortless vocal doesn’t have a wide range but even slight shifts in his tone, pitch and volume result in massive melodic mood swings within songs and across the album. While all members of the quintet have writing credits, the majority of lyrics are written and sung by Chatten. On the surface he is cool and charismatic but as you dive deeper he presents as yet another troubled musician that turns his dark life outlook and inner demons into sublime level lyricism. With his knack for utilizing a deep knowledge of pop culture and an Irish dialect to pair with, he is a truly unique presence in today’s musical landscape.

As far as musical skillset goes his bandmates aren’t exactly falling behind him either. Romance is far from a one man show with every member having freedom to layer and inject their own musical DNA to the songs. The attention to detail and forethought is next level. Conner Curley, Carlos O’Connell, Conner Deeban and Tom Coll support Chatten by passing the musical baton through a myriad of instrumentation contributions including synthesizers, mellotron, pianos and keyboards, bass, electric and acoustic guitars, and traditional and electronic drums all paired with an external string quartet joining them for a handful of songs. Romance comes together as a truly fantastic album. From the big picture to the smallest detail, the band deliver.

Fontaines D.C. ultimately do it all laying down a vision that the majority of other musicians couldn’t even dream of. This creative direction on Romance is executed to a tee with an overall direction and aesthetic that wavers through rock genres and surprises with moments of musical improvisation, yet despite the music pulling in all directions, it feels completely copacetic. Normally in rock music it’s very difficult to tell how much an outcome like this is result of a band with a great idea or a producer who has their finger on the pulse. I typically default to the band as instruments and vocals make up a major percentage of rock, but in this case producer James Ford absolutely deserves a heaping pile of credit. Not to take anything away from the fellas of Fontaines but after crushing 2023 with The Car by Arctic Monkeys, Memento Mori by Depeche Mode & That! Feels Good! by Jessie Ware, Ford has followed up in 2024 with three of the best indie rock records of the year in Prelude to Ecstasy from The Last Dinner Party, Lives Outgrown by Portishead’s Beth Gibbons and now Romance, which may rightfully be near the top of both mainstream and critical best of lists for the year. You don’t just stumble your way into that much success and we’ve reached a point now where his albums are appointment listening. Here’s hoping Fontaines D.C. and Ford join forces very soon once again. 

Romance finds Fontaines D.C. in the finest of form, producing an eclectic rock album that is a sure fire bet to be in contention for 2024’s album of the year. A record that has all the makings of triggering their ascension to become the next great headline level rock band. 

Overall Rating: 8.6/10

Favourite Song: Starburster

ROZ

Now and then Too Sweet Reviews comes across an artist or band that makes me beam with delight, and this week is one of those weeks. Fontaines D.C., an Irish outfit that specializes in their own special brand of punk rock, released their fourth studio album Romance this past week and I’ve been enamored with it from the drop.

Written throughout a tour that the band did with Arctic Monkeys, Romance was not only impacted intangibly by the experience but also from a very tangible standpoint as well as long-time A.M. collaborator James Ford came onboard as the producer for the album. With an insurmountably stacked resume – Blur, Gorillaz, Florence & the Machine, Jessie Ware… hell, right up to 2024 critical darlings The Last Dinner Party – the foursome found itself in exceptionally skilled hands. If there’s one point I could ever make in my reviews, it would be stressing the fact that a well-rounded, versatile, technically skilled producer is one of the biggest contributing factors to the proper execution of a band’s vision. The best producers in the world are the ones who can work with any artist of any genre and use the strengths of that band to ensure their visions and ideas come to life. This is exactly what Ford was able to do for Chatten, Curley, Deegan and O’Connell: amplify their strengths, offer them the resources they need, push the boundaries of their sound and ultimately allow them to become the best version of themselves that they can be.

Speaking of their sound, the touring influence completely encapsulates Romance from front to back. City to city, tonal shift after tonal shift – the album seems to slide in and out of various energies, reflections, worries, and borderline smothering feelings based on their journey through Small Town USA all the way to the triple feature in Los Angeles. The album engorges itself with a range of influences and pop cultural references as it pulls from just about everything; movies, poetry, even anime. Grian paints a picture of his anxiety-riddled, dystopian-at-times worldview that highlights his massive talents as not only a singer but also as a songwriter. The titular track Romance opens the curtain as the first song on the album; its moody guitars treading along as if plucked from the ‘90’s alt-rock scene verbatim. A sense of longing and need for validation is felt throughout Desire, with its backing string quartet solidifying the feeling (and yes, Ford brought in a real-life quartet, again proving his value as a visionary since coming aboard). In The Modern World sees string, guitar and vocal elements combine beautifully and with such melancholy as it dips itself into delicious reverb and delay effects. Final track Favourite serves as a sweet, reflective moment as Grian looks back on his personal growth as well as the friends and family he’s surrounded himself with in an absolutely stunning closer.

By and large the most impressive track on the entirety of the album is Starburster – not only exceptional in quality but also the most daring; ultimately the one that encapsulates the creative edge displayed by the group. Electronica stylings akin to Portishead or Nine Inch Nails are present throughout as powerful drum breaks on the verge of distortion act as the driving force throughout this hard hitting single. Grian Chatten’s creative choice to leave in his breaths between words in during the chorus (even moreso as panicked gasps) was an element that I thought about for quite some time after the fact. It was as if he was attempting to force his head above water after being sucked out from the shore; a unique element that I felt evoked a sense of dreadful panic throughout, both sonically and lyrically. A sense of dread not only heard, but also felt.

Fontaines D.C.’s Romance is one of the best and well-written rock albums of 2024 so far. The album packs a punch that reverberates more and more after every new listen, offering the kind of replay value that is hard to find in this modern age of music.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Favourite Song: Starburster

REID

For the second week in a row, an overseas rock band with a thick accented vocalist is on the docket. This time it’s Fontaines D.C. from Ireland, who are vehemently turning heads with their fourth studio release, Romance. This should come as no surprise to those familiar with the group as their first three efforts were met with critical acclaim and prestigious award nominations. While new as a band to our trio, lead singer Grian Chatten, is a known commodity. His solo album from last year, Chaos For The Fly (2023), was a glimpse into his voice and carefree musical style.

Band history is always an interest of mine and one tidbit of information stood out in my research - the band name. ‘Fontaines’ originates from the character Johnny Fontane from the classic gangster film, The Godfather (1972). Johnny was an up-and-coming singer and movie star, benefitting from the high-level connections of his godfather and mob boss, Vito Corelone. His appearance led to the epic horsehead scene resulting from a movie executive denying Vito’s insistent requests to have his godson in a starring role. Major props to the band for this iconic nugget. The D.C. stands for Dublin City.

Each run through Romance immerses the listener in a conglomeration of rock styles from the Irish band. Desire and Sundowner showcases their shoegaze talent with entrancing synth soundscapes and ethereal vocals to match. Strings bring a touch of class to In The Modern World and Horseness in The Whatness, with the former submitting its qualifications for karaoke song of the year. Give me a beer and flashlight at a sundown set – please and thanks. Death Kink, Motorcycle Boy, and Favourite lean more into your typical alt-rock sound, each quite different with their own added flare. Bug is my favourite of the eleven tracks, reminiscent of the classic sound from UK pioneers, Oasis. Fitting seeing how they just announced their reunion and 2025 world tour. I wonder what Liam would have to say about FDC? Tough guy to please and unpredictable at best but I like to think he’d be impressed.

Special shout outs go to Chatten and producer James Ford. The frontman’s ability to alter his delivery for the array of genres with introspective lyrics shows his immense talent. Romance is the first of FDC’s albums under Ford, who has his fingerprints on several of UK’s finest. If the group’s goal was to elevate their past performances and take the next step, they’ve done just that.

Captivating and atmospheric merged with stadium singalong. Romance is a prototypical modern rock album set to scratch the creative itch of a group unwilling to stay in a single lane.

Overall Rating: 8.0/10

Favourite Song: Bug