The Agenda Setter: 'ROMANCE' isn't boring: Fontaines D.C. have a big weekend ahead that could set them up as the band of their generation | Dork
The Agenda Setter: 'ROMANCE' isn't boring: Fontaines D.C. have a big weekend ahead that could set them up as the band of their generation
As they prepare to drop their fourth album 'ROMANCE' - a game-changing masterpiece that ignores expectations and delivers - before heading to the fields of Reading & Leeds for what could be a future headline slot audition, it's time to start asking if Fontaines D.C. could well be that era-defining band.
WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT THIS WEEK
As they prepare to drop their fourth album 'ROMANCE' - a game-changing masterpiece that ignores expectations and delivers - before heading to the fields of Reading & Leeds for what could be a future headline slot audition, it's time to start asking if Fontaines D.C. could well be that era-defining band.
It's easy for guitar music to feel like a bit of a relic in a world of genre-splicing, boundary-free artistry and the endless parade of trending musical fast fashion – a cultural T-Rex lumbering towards extinction as the meteoric rise of algorithmically optimised playlists and 30-second snippets turned into songs for maximum loopability reshape the musical landscape.
As they prepare to appear at Reading & Leeds this weekend for what may be a future headline audition, it's a landscape into which Fontaines D.C. have emerged as potential saviours. It's not that the six-string is dead - there's no need for a post-mortem here - just their fourth album, 'Romance', has all the hallmarks of a seismic event, a tectonic shift in the bedrock of inverted commas 'rock music' that threatens to redraw the entire map. Over a long weekend at the end of August, Fontaines D.C. are ready to show everyone just what a band at the top of their game looks and sounds like.
"Into the darkness again," intones frontman Grian Chatten as the record's opening title-track unfurls. It's less an invitation and more a declaration of intent, a siren call luring listeners into uncharted waters. If you've come expecting another serving of the band's earlier don't-call-it-post-punk fare, prepare for disappointment – or better yet, enlightenment.
It's an evolution from the overt references to Irish identity that defined their earlier work, the Dublin-inflected drawl that made 'Dogrel' feel like a love letter to a city written in feedback. In their place is a sprawling, cinematic soundscape that draws from an eclectic palette of influences so diverse it makes their peers and contemporaries look positively homogeneous.
"This record is about deciding what's fantasy - the tangible world, or where you go in your mind. What represents reality more? That feels almost spiritual for us," explains guitarist Carlos O'Connell in the material that accompanied the album's initial announcement - a profound statement that reflects the depth of thought behind the album, showcasing Fontaines D.C.'s ability to blend philosophical musings with their musical craft.
Take 'Starburster', the album's lead single. It's a track that comes at you like a rabid dog bred from the unholy union of nu-metal aggression and shoegaze textures. Chatten's vocals, usually a baritone drawl, here morph into a feral snarl punctuated by sharp, animalistic intakes of breath. "This is the first album where I've actually loved my own voice," Chatten admits, and it shows. His delivery is raw, unhinged, and utterly captivating. The song's propulsive beat and unrelenting lyrics establish self-destruction as fantasy, a theme that recurs throughout the album. It's a far cry from 'Boys in the Better Land', but it's utterly thrilling.
Then there's 'Here's The Thing', a song that flirts shamelessly with power pop in a way that would make Rivers Cuomo blush, but in a way which is undeniably still Fontaines D.C. to the core. It's Weezer by way of William Butler Yeats, marrying crunchy guitars and earworm melodies with lyrics that dance on the knife-edge between profound and preposterous. The track builds on anxious undertones, drawing inspiration from almost mechanical aesthetics and, lyrically, from a brief but caustic argument between Chatten and O'Connell. It's a perfect example of how personal experiences can be transmuted into universal art.
"We're making sounds that go beyond what our comprehension was when we were in a shed rehearsal room," says bassist Conor Deegan. "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." This willingness to experiment and push boundaries is what makes 'Romance' such a thrilling listen. It's an album that refuses to sit still, constantly straining at the boundaries of what a rock record can be in 2024.
'Death Kink' is the heaviest thing the band has ever committed to tape, a snarling beast that shows Fontaines D.C. still have teeth. "That has a chord progression I'd held onto for a while," says guitarist Conor Curley. "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." This deformation, this willingness to take familiar elements and twist them into new shapes, is key to understanding 'Romance''s appeal.
At the other end of the spectrum, 'Desire' builds to a string-laden crescendo that showcases the band's growing musical sophistication. "To write songs that are sexier and sensual is new to me - I've never had the confidence," Chatten admits. It's a striking departure from the band's earlier, more austere approach to romance.
'Motorcycle Boy' strips things back to little more than Chatten's voice and an acoustic guitar, creating a moment of stark vulnerability amidst the album's often overwhelming soundscapes. These stylistic shifts come thick and fast without ever losing the record's essential character.
But 'Romance' is more than just a showcase of musical versatility. It's a work that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant, grappling with themes that will strike a chord with anyone who's ever felt lost in the maelstrom of modern existence. 'In The Modern World', the album's hypnotic centrepiece, explores themes of detachment from capitalist society, consumerism, and political turmoil.
This shift in focus is no accident. As Deego puts it, "Each album gets further away from observing that through the lens of Ireland, as directly as Dogrel. The second album ('A Hero's Death') is about that detachment, and the third ('Skinty Fia') is about Irishness dislocated in the diaspora. Now we look to where - and what - else there is to be romantic about." It's a journey that's taken the band from the gritty streets of Dublin to (nearly) the top of the charts and, now, to a place of artistic freedom that few bands ever reach.
This evolution is not just in their themes but in their approach to songwriting itself. As Chatten explains, "I don't understand how artists enter 'writing periods'. If you perceive the world creatively, you'll never need that. I don't feel like I'm ever not writing the next album." This constant creative flow has allowed the band to push beyond their earlier, more rigid approach. Deego reflects on their past methodology: "It was a philosophy. If we couldn't do it live as a five, we were doing something wrong." Now, they've embraced a more expansive, layered approach to recording.
MORE FROM THE AGENDA
The making of 'Romance' was, by all accounts, an intense experience. The band immersed themselves fully in the process, spending a month writing together, three weeks in pre-production, and a month recording in a chateau close to Paris. "Everything became microscopic in detail," says Curley. "There was no breathing space between writing and recording. It flew quite close to the band having an aneurysm - and it needed that, really. 'Romance' has the true madness of a late night session."
This intensity is palpable in the finished product. As drummer Tom Coll notes, "It was fun to broaden the palette that we started to emulate on Skinty." The result is an album that pushes the boundaries of what a Fontaines D.C. record can be. "We're more confident in what we're all bringing now," Coll adds. "We aren't looking back so much."
It's an album that feels both meticulously crafted and wildly unpredictable. Working with producer James Ford, the band has expanded their palette in ways that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. "We wanted to express the feeling with every appendage possible," says O'Connell, a statement that reflects the band's all-encompassing approach to this record.
This expanded vocabulary allows the band to paint on a much broader canvas. The shoegaze elements first hinted at on 'Skinty Fia' are here given free rein, creating moments of swirling, ethereal beauty that contrast sharply with the album's more aggressive passages. There are nods to hip-hop in the rhythmic structures of some tracks, while others incorporate elements of electronica. The band cites influences ranging from Shygirl and Sega Bodega to Mos Def, A$AP Ferg, OutKast and Korn, showcasing their wide-ranging musical tastes.
But for all its sonic adventurousness, 'Romance' never feels like a mere exercise in genre tourism. At its core, it remains unmistakably a Fontaines D.C. album, held together by Chatten's distinctive vocals and the band's knack for creating music that feels both immediate and timeless. This cohesion is all the more impressive given the band members' individual journeys during the album's creation: O'Connell spent time in Spain's Castile-La Mancha and became a new father, Chatten sojourned in LA, and Deegan in Paris.
Chatten's lyrics, always a cornerstone of the band's appeal, reach new heights on 'Romance'. Drawing inspiration from diverse sources, he crafts a lyrical world that's both intimately personal and sweepingly cinematic. "'Romance' can be a place you're locked out of, that you're confounded by," Chatten explains. "Maybe you don't have the language to gain access. It could be something you're hellbent on protecting, or an all-out surrender." He elaborates on the album's central theme: "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."
This newfound optimism, however cautious, marks a significant shift for the band. 'Romance' is, at its core, an album about the power of human connection in the face of overwhelming odds. It's about finding beauty in the broken, love in the ruins.
The album draws inspiration from a wide range of sources, from the decaying glamour of old Hollywood to the climate-anxious fiction of Nikolaj Schultz's 'Land Sickness'. These diverse influences coalesce into a rich tapestry of sound and meaning, creating an album that sticks around both in the head and on the speaker.
As 'Romance' prepares to make its way into the world, it stands as a testament to Fontaines D.C.'s unwavering artistic vision and their refusal to be pigeonholed. Rather than opt for sure bets and diminishing returns, Fontaines D.C. have taken a leap into the unknown and emerged with something truly special. It's an album that demands to be heard, a work of art that refuses to be ignored. As Chatten poetically puts it, "I think of the album like a snowglobe, too, where a pastoral scene can be sent into chaos." This image perfectly encapsulates the beautiful turbulence of 'Romance' – a self-contained world of swirling emotions and sonic innovation, ready to be shaken up and experienced anew with each listen.
As we stand on the cusp of its release, 'Romance' promises not just to be one of the most anticipated but also one of the most significant albums of 2024. It's a record that could redefine Fontaines D.C.'s own artistic trajectory and supercharge the very landscape of contemporary guitar music.
"We say things on this record we've wanted to say for a long time," Chatten reflects. "I never feel like it's over, but it's nice to feel lighter." In creating 'Romance', Fontaines D.C. have created something that cuts against the safe and predictable - a record that's undeniably them, but unquestionably something new. As they prepare to drop the album, then immediately head to the fields for a celebratory victory lap, they've become something to believe in - far bigger than the scrappy gang that first emerged with an explosive debut album. Now, there's the impression that they could well be that band for their generation. The true test of that starts this weekend, as they take to the stage with 'Romance' in tow, ready to prove that their evolution is not just a studio trick, but a live, breathing entity. In the muddy fields of Reading & Leeds, amidst the chaos and euphoria of festival season, Fontaines D.C. stand poised to cement their place as not just a great band, but a truly important one.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE AGENDA
Tool, Twenty One Pilots and Alanis Morissette top Riot Fest 2026 bill
Pierce the Veil, Morrissey, Iggy Pop and Pixies join the Chicago weekender
