It almost feels too obvious to say Fontaines D.C. should be headlining Reading & Leeds in the very near future

The band’s swaggering potential has never been more apparent. Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Patrick Gunning. Fontaines D.C. have clearly been destined for big things since the snarling ‘Dogrel’ gave fresh momentum to an entire scene. ‘A Hero’s Death’ and ‘Skinty Fia’ underlined their growing reputation as a potential band of a generation but new album ‘Romance’ has turbo-charged their ascent. Their music has always been a scrappy mix of tenderness, hope and frustration, but ‘Romance’. is more sure of itself in every way, with the band smashing together alt-rock, Y2K pop and ferocious punk to create a record that demands a reaction. Today on Reading’s main stage, they certainly get one. Opening with the snarling, atmospheric title track, Fontaines D.C. lean heavily on their brave new world. The scuzzy daydream of ‘Here’s The Thing’ and the sheer fury of ‘Death Kink’ sees the band flexing their more abrasive muscles before slowing things down for the dreamy ‘The Modern World’. The urgent heartburst of ‘Favourite’ is pretty, but no less crunching while an absolutely monstrous ‘Starburst’ closes out the set in suitably chaotic fashion. It feels like Fontaines D.C. know they’ve created a masterpiece with ‘Romance’. The album has only been out for a matter of hours at this point in time, but it makes up a bulk of today’s set and even older tracks like ‘I Love You’, ‘Boys In The Better Land’ and ‘Jackie Down The Line’ feel more energised alongside this fearless new material. The entire 45-minute set is absolutely brilliant, but it’s also full of promise. With a massive show at Finsbury Park already on the cards for next summer ahead of a very sold out UK tour, ‘Romance’ is just going to keep getting bigger. It almost feels too obvious to say Fontaines D.C. should be headlining Reading & Leeds in the very near future, with the band’s swaggering potential never more apparent. If Romance is a place, it’s on the biggest of stages.