WHEN ROMANCE AND DARKNESS COLLIDE | FONTAINES D.C. DELIVER GENRE FLUIDITY IN AMBITIOUS NEW ALBUM

ALBUM REVIEW | FONTAINES D.C. – ROMANCE by Anne Kelly 5/5

From that first dooming bass note, I’m already hooked. The ominous opening riff is breathtaking; think twisted carnival, but with a hint of romance – it’s like opening a door you know shouldn’t and relishing in the mischief. “Into the darkness again” croons Grian Chatten in the opening line of Romance; the introductory and title track on Fontaines D.C.‘s fourth and most ambitious album yet.

You would have been hard pushed this summer to avoid the hype surrounding Dublin band Fontaines D.C. and their latest incarnation. From the moment they dropped trip hop inspired ‘Starburster‘ back in April, the momentum behind the bands fourth album has been frantic. But now that Romance is here, is it worthy of all the commotion? For a band who are rooted in punk rock, the progression of Fontaines D.C. has been compelling. The albums have successively got darker, the lyrics much deeper and the sound much more refined; all whilst pushing boundaries and testing the genre bending limits of modern rock music. Romance continues on that trajectory, cultivating something special in return.

“I’m fascinated by that – falling in love at the end of the world. The album is about protecting that tiny flame. The bigger armageddon looms, the more precious it becomes.” – Grian Chatten.

At it’s core, title track ‘Romance‘ is pure theatrics. A cinematic treat coloured by sound, the crashing cymbals and deafening orchestral boom will burst through your speakers and trigger the hairs on the back of your neck. The repetition of “maybe romance is a place” builds upon a dystopian notion that begs to expose where we draw the line between fantasy and reality.

‘Starburster‘ naturally continues the dystopian ambience. I remember hearing that song when it was first released and being blown away. The intensity, the discordant off beat rhythm and haunting orchestration of the song begs to be explored. Every listen to this trip hop masterpiece unveils something new. Months down the line and it’s still an unskippable track.

The flow of the album is really well crafted. Each track compliments it’s predecessor and recognises the needs of the listener. ‘Here’s The Thing‘ breaks the intensity of the opening two numbers. The theatrics are toned down and the guitars are turned up, leaving a stadium ready rock anthem. Scuzzy guitars against the tender vocals create a real oxymoron of a melody. Full of energy, ‘Desire‘ strips it back to an ominous bleak. Crawling in like a secret track from Nirvana’s In Utero era, ‘Desire‘ is desolating and raw. Probably most reminiscent of 2022’s Skinty Fia, ‘Desire‘ is the ‘I Love You‘ of Romance.

Fontaines D.C. offered fans another teaser earlier this week with the release of ‘In The Modern World’. A slow burner which finds itself “built around the idea of a fictional throuple intent on staying together while dystopia rages on”. The track, which Chatten shares vocals with bassist Conor Deegan, reflects on a feeling of detachment from reality. It’s probably one of the safest tracks on the album but again, it compliments the listening journey.

I promised myself that I wouldn’t get too carried away with this album review, but it’s hard not to overlook any of its 11 tracks. Moving into the second half of the album, it’s all fresh, previously unheard songs to the listening ear; before closing with indie summer anthem ‘Favourite‘.

‘BUG‘ will likely feel comfortable for the bands vetenary fans. Falling somewhere between A Hero’s Death and Skinty Fia era in style, ‘BUG‘ carries an early brit-pop feel akin to bands like The Bluetones, Longpig or Levellers. The quality continues just as strong with the next few tracks with the psychedelia infused ‘Motorcycle Boy‘ and the ambient Moby inspired ‘Sundowner‘.

There is a lot of praise due for the production of Romance. Produced by James Ford (Blur, Arctic Monkey’s, Florence & The Machine), the bands fourth album is their most experimental yet. “We wanted to express the feeling with every appendage possible” says guitarist Carlos O’Connell – and that they do. On ‘Motorcycle Boy‘, the wah effect looped throughout is disorientating and evokes a sense of unease. However, layered alongside the melodic acoustic strumming and Grian’s warming vocals, the tracks tranquility builds to an orchestral crescendo of noise. This multi-layered effect of track blending is consistent throughout the production. Every song is one to be explored time and time again, ready to unveil fresh gems upon every listen.

Fontaines D.C. bassist Connor ‘Deego’ Deegan said of the albums vision “We’re making sounds that go beyond what our comprehension was when we were in a shed rehearsal room, I’m inspired by sounds that seem accidental, distorted and chopped up. We’ve worked through how to stay true to ourselves, while exploring new ideas.” Tracks like the aforementioned ‘Sundowner‘ -which feature lead vocals from Conor Curly (guitar) for the first time – capture that sentiment really well. The showgazey tranquility flows harmoniously throughout the second half of this album, a real testament to the progression of the band and producer James Ford’s ability to bring that vision to life.

As the album prepares to draw to close, romantic lullaby ‘Horseness Is The Whatness‘ brings a sense of optimism to the bleak. Starting with a pulsating in utero heartbeat rhythm, this one utilises string arrangements and big orchestration, tenderly carrying the listener, building in grandeur. Culminating to a celestial peak before abruptly distorting the melody with an eerily melodic static akin to the distortion heard on the opening track, ‘Romance‘. I absolutely love a callback on albums, the Easter egg of the music world that brings the music full circle and evokes that same forgotten feelings.

‘Death Kink‘ – a song about coming out of a toxic relationship – brings the rockier elements of Fontaines D.C. back into the spotlight. It’s pure noise which captures the energy of their earlier sound with a grunge edge.

“There’s the ghost of ‘Boys In The Better Land’ in it. It has the intention of being a straight up rock song, but it’s deformed by this project.” I love the end of that comment from guitarist Conor Curley on ‘Death Kink‘; “deformed by this project“ captures the eccentricity of the album so smoothly.

Finishing with the recent feel good indie banger ‘Favourite‘, the song leaves the album on a a much brighter note than it started. Chatten admits that he initially wrote a massive 12 verses for ‘Favourite‘ which ultimately had to be reigned in. In the name of editorial balance, it’s probably the least interesting song on the album. It’s a great catchy riff and lyrically it’s solid, but the repetition is a bit like elevator music. The 5/6 verses could have been 12 and sounded the same. It’s a great track yet a debatable closer. After all the theatrical energy throughout Romance, it would have been expected that the finale would be bigger. But, perhaps the intention was to emerge from this dystopian delusion on a comforting sense of realism. Romance is an intense album to listen to; it evokes such a strong sense of emotion that it has to end on something grounding, like ‘Favourite‘.

After the first listen, I was set to declare Romance the best Fontaines D.C. album yet. It captures something uniquely special that no other band seem to be able to capture so acutely at the moment; every track is strong in it’s own merit and as an album, the tracks gel despite the genre fluid amalgamation of different musical styles. But to declare this album as their best disregards the transition that has been evident within this band for years. 2022’s No.1 charting Skinty Fia is an absolute masterpiece of modern rock music. 2019 debut Dogrel is arguably one of the best punk albums of the 21st century and 2020’s A Hero’s Death seen Fontaines D.C. evolve from a garage band to something worthy of the main stage. Romance is natural successor in the bands growth and raises the bar for not only Fontaines D.C. moving forward, but for rock music in general. A classic in the making for sure.