Fontaines DC: Sonic Singles & Switching Singers

Written and edited by Millie Cain.

Do Fontaines DC ever sleep? Now onto their 4th album, following almost unbroken touring in the last few years, with another set to come this winter following their array of summer festival appearances, I can only wonder how they have the time. But, with new single ‘Starburster’ continuing to accelerate Ireland’s most vulnerable post-punk band, we evidently have much to look forward to with their upcoming album Romance.

Not to complain, as nearly everyone is in agreement that their upcoming album has potential to be their best work to date. Huge shoes to fill after the critical acclaim of Skinty Fia (2022), Fontaines DC cemented their place as the current powerhouse of their genre. If you, like me, haven’t been able to get the industrial, post production grit of new single ‘Starburster’ out of your head, then you’ll be holding out for a very high standard for their new record. Undeniably talented, unparalleled in their cult-like fanbase, bringing in new sounds and swapping member’s roles, I believe Romance could be the one. 

Notably, Fontaines DC have certainly spun onto a whole new marketing wheel, which begs the question, is it ironic or just cringe? For a band so self-aware, I can only presume we are seeing an acid green alt-pop characteristaion of ‘wet wipe’ artists, such as Yungblud, who are hyper fixated on a more childish, hyper-pop aesthetic. While a reach into far nu-metal is understandable, Chatten himself has cited an influence from Korn and a new bigger budget label pushing their releases, the Y2K style is questionable at best for a respected band in their 30s – but we can hold out hope for irony. 

I’m predicting the titular album track ‘Romance’ to hit us in June, with tinges of 90s Nick Cave and Depeche Mode seeping through, it’s clear they’re setting the score for the new album early doors. It’s likely we will see ‘Favourite’, a bright, jangly, shoegaze-esque number recently debuted at a show in Warsaw, Brooklyn to guide us through summer and into their late August album release with its looping guitar lines. The recently played new material has been devoured and rightly so. With bigger label XL recordings at their back, it is clear Fontaines DC are branching out and making changes for their new record.

Following Grian Chatten’s solo album Chaos For The Fly (2023), which was worked on a personal level and with his girlfriend Georgie Jesson supporting on some tracks, it has potentially given space for other members of the band to bring ideas of their own to the table. Guitarist Conor Curley is debuting ‘accidentally’ as lead singer for at least one album track, written by himself ‘Sundowner’; an exciting proposition after uncovering his previous own recordings on soundcloud (available here: https://soundcloud.com/conor-curley ), a great vibrato and jazz swing vocally could make for a really interesting switch in the song that has been described as an ‘ode to friendship’ by himself. Bassist Conor ‘Deego’ Deegan has also been stepping up with further influence, after finding love in Paris and taking time for personal growth, seemingly paid off with the addictive bassline on ‘Starburster’. One of which is a Ulysses reminiscent single ‘Horseness is the Whatness’ written by guitarist Carlos O’Connell, who has spent time producing for Peter Perrett, as well as becoming a father since the last album, and has brought in the mellotron heard on ‘Starburster’ and apparently building in strings for his album tracks. 

Other album tracks such as ‘Death Kink’ have been described as having ‘the ghost of Boys in The Better Land’ of Dogrel (2019) fame laid throughout. We’ll be surprised to see a more sensual tone to Chatten’s songwriting, something he openly admitted he ‘never had the confidence’ for and we will see in mid-album track ‘Desire’. But, fans of their previous work won’t need to worry too much – if the guitars on Romance are anything to go by, Fontaines DC aren’t altogether abandoning their Skinty Fia sound. Chatten’s songwriting isn’t something any fan can doubt, as a child, Chatten’s father bribed him with packets of football stickers to memorise poems – leading him to listen to and recite the likes of Bob Dylan and the Cure. In retrospect, he admitted even at a young age he was trying to reach beyond the banality of everyday life. One song especially, central track ‘In The Modern World’ appears to be a standout, questioning the spiralling of political strife and the detachment from capitalist society, along with ‘Here’s The Thing’, an anxious pitfall into an argument in between Chatten and O’Connell will certainly make for an interesting listen.

Chatten has admitted in interviews to having pulled influences for this album from Gorillaz and Blur, while fans speculate a delve into Prodigy and early Kasabian vibes on ‘Starburster’, the band have a vault of brilliant music to draw from. The band have been working with producer James Ford who has worked with these artists named, as well as the likes of The Last Shadow Puppets and Arctic Monkeys ( with Alex Turner himself being seen recently attending a Fontaines DC show in Brooklyn) there is sonic talent both in the studio and on stage for this record. 
Romance will be available on 23rd August 2024, you can catch them at Leeds Festival that very next weekend, or at First Direct Arena on 3rd December.