A Hero’s Death is the opposite of a sophomore slump.
It’s only been a year and change since Fontaines D.C. released their debut album Dogrel, which I put at the top of the Indiecator’s “top albums of 2019” list. Between its unabashedly Irish feel and its novel take on post-punk, it was a stellar debut that was like nothing else I’ve heard. I came back to its 11 tracks more than any other release from last year, and I knew that it would be a tough act to follow.
Despite this high bar, and my skepticism about a release so close on the heels to Dogrel, Fontaines D.C.’s second album A Hero’s Death is the opposite of a sophomore slump. It’s strikingly darker and drearier than its predecessor, and the band’s Irish-ness is no longer front and center. It also embraces a different type of post-punk, one that takes more cues from Mancunian acts like the Fall and Joy Division, and is sure to entice both fans of Dogrel and those who found the band’s debut overrated.
A Hero’s Death opens with “I Don’t Belong,” a bleak track that casts a pall over the rest of the album, introducing you to its general tone. It has the low notes of grunge music, a slow tempo that only exacerbates its moodiness, and a reverberating quality that shows off the album’s amped-up production. In contrast to the lo-fi Dogrel, A Hero’s Death actually sounds more like the polished “Darklands” versions of their early singles. “Love is the Main Thing” continues this darkness, with frontman Grian Chatten putting on his most Ian Curtis-esque voice yet, periodically interrupted by harsh guitar notes. Drummer Tom Coll deserves a mention for his performance on this track as well, which never falters in its constant-cymbal rhythm.
While these first two tracks reinforce the relationship between somber music and a more subdued delivery, other parts of A Hero’s Death aim to emphasize the “punk” in “post-punk.” “A Lucid Dream” is frantic from start to finish, with a quick tempo, and Chatten barely catches his breath between words. A mid-song lull only adds to the chaos, like the eye of a hurricane. “Living in America” is borderline gothic rock, with a heavy snare beat, strong reverb effects, and unpredictable dynamic shifts. Then you have the title track, which has the punch of Dogrel’s “Sha Sha Sha” mixed with some Interpol-style guitar riffs. There’s quite the interesting contrast between its ominous tone, Chatten’s repetition of optimistic platitudes (“Don’t give up too quick, you only get one line – you better make it stick”), and…doo-wop backing vocals inspired by Beach Boys?
Yes, A Hero’s Death is not all doom and gloom, and is every bit unpredictable as Dogrel. The single “Televised Mind” still errs on the side of post-punk, but there’s some psychedelic flair in its guitar melody and droning bass line. “I Was Not Born” has the strumming and tempo of a Velvet Underground song, albeit with the raucousness we’ve come to expect from Fontaines D.C. On the slower side, “You Said” is a mix of shoegaze and Britpop, with Chatten considerably softening his vocals. As this song follows intense rock tracks, it really stands out. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the back-to-back of the aptly-named “Sunny” and the 90s alt-rock stylings of “No.” These two tracks close the album on a mild note, but feel longer than they actually are, and are a bit of anticlimactic ending.
The members of Fontaines D.C. are well known bard-aficionados, and their love of poetry has been documented in numerous interviews. This shows in lyrics like those of the relatively threadbare “Oh Such a Spring,” wherein Chatten laments a bygone season and watching “all the folks go to work just to die.” That said, there are arguably more instances where Chatten leans into repeating the same lyric over and over. The chorus of “I Don’t belong” is that titular phrase repeated ad nauseum, and he does the same on “Televised Mind.” It seems like a small nitpick, but it is hard not to notice the first time you listen to “A Hero’s Death” and wonder “how many times is he going to sing ‘life ain’t always empty?”
If you really enjoyed Dogrel, as I did, listening to A Hero’s Death for the first time can be quite jarring, and I initially judged it by what it lacked. “Where are all the Irish-isms? Where’s that lo-fi charm? Where’s my traditional-sounding Irish folk song?” Eventually, I realized it made for an altogether different listening experience, one that tones down the spunk and social commentary in favor of despondency and introspection. It’s an excellent album in this sense.
Chatten named the A Hero’s Death after a line in the Brendan Behan play The Hostage: “everybody’s looking for a hero’s death.” This was partially chosen due to the band’s uncertainty around how their second album would be received, knowing that there’s no shortage of bands who lose their luster after an acclaimed debut. Fortunately, this album ensures no one will be hoping for the end of Fontaines D.C.
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