Review: Fontaines D.C. – Romance

On their fourth album Romance, Fontaines D.C. step away from the darkness and into the 90s and early 2000s.

 

The trend of Fontaines D.C.’s first three albums was that the band was only getting darker with time. Their debut Dogrel was downright quaint, with its lo-fi production and Irish charm, while its follow-up A Hero’s Death was much moodier and more introspective lyrically. Then their third album Skinty Fia took a bold step into gothic rock, with several brooding tracks that really let their bass notes reverberate. All three albums were incredible efforts, as you can tell from my annual countdowns, and it seemed Fontaines D.C. had found their niche in the morose side of post-punk.

Initially, Fontaines D.C.’s fourth album Romance gives the impression that it’s continuing this trend. The opening title track is incredibly ominous, between its John Carpenter synths, childlike xylophone, crashing cymbals, and lyrics like “I will be beside you til you’re dead.” The album’s lead single “Starbuster” continues this tension, with drums that could have been laid down as a hip-hop beat, twangy bass, and frontman Grian Chatten delivering his lines with such a rush that the chorus is marked by a panicked gasp for air. While it’s not quite “brooding,” it’s certainly unsettling, and has the attitude of an early Kasabian track. Speaking of, the third track, “Here’s the Thing,” would have been right at home in the early-to-mid 2000s, with its heavy garage rock riffs showing off the “punk” part of post-punk. All three tracks make for an incredibly strong start to Romance, and suggest the album will have an edgier sound than its predecessors.

However, much like Chatten’s solo album Chaos for the Fly from last year, Romance has a dramatic tonal shift exactly four tracks in, starting with “Desire.” Right as you might be bracing yourself for a more frantic, in-your-face album, this track slows things down with delicate strings that contrast against brash power chords. This works out well, despite the change of pace, but the same can’t be said for its successor “In the Modern World,” which keeps the strings but ditches everything else. Its only distinguishing feature is that bassist Connor Deegan takes backup vocals. Otherwise, it’s one of the band’s most skippable tracks.

The remainder of Romance is just as unpredictable. “Horseness is the Whatness,” which gets its title from James Joyce’s Ulysses, is a lullaby-esque ballad with a string section like that of “In the Modern World.” It’s followed by “Death Kink,” a heavy track with enough guitar distortion and 90s-vibes to warrant a Pixies comparison. Romance might not have a unifying style, but there is a recurring lean into rock sounds of 20-30 years ago throughout. “Bug” starts out with the notes of a James Bond theme, but then adds enough swagger to remind you of Britpop (which feels heretical to say about an Irish band). This label could also be applied to the closing track “Favourite,” a sweet and uptempo rock song with a guitar hook that’s sure to get stuck in your head. It might be the most pop-oriented and accessible thing the band have ever done, and would be a great candidate for introducing someone to Fontaines D.C. It’s also the perfect way to end Romance.

By now, you’re probably well aware that Fontaines D.C. can pull off rock that ranges from grunge to baroque pop, from light-hearted to gothic, and from lo-fi to grandiose. That said, the most compelling parts of Romance come when the band experiments with styles and effects that they’ve never attempted before. “Motorcycle Boy” mixes acoustic strumming and backing piano with a bizarre vocal loop effect to create something of a dream pop song. I enjoy it, but will also admit it might have been a better fit on Chaos for the Fly. Even more unexpected is “Sundowner” a straight-up shoegaze track where guitarist Connor Curley takes lead vocals. Comparisons to fellow Irish rockers My Bloody Valentine are inevitable here, and the band pulls off this hazy sound surprisingly well.

Romance is a clear attempt by Fontaines D.C. to reverse course from their dark trajectory and to expand their reach into a variety of new styles. This makes for an album with a very noticeable lack of cohesion, but relatively strong individual tracks that are heavily indebted to turn of the millennium-era rock. The ballads don’t work out as well as the livelier songs here, but the singles “Starbuster,” “Here’s the Thing,” and “Favourite” are the most likely candidates for repeat listens. These tracks, combined with the album’s brief aforementioned forays into dream pop and shoegaze, make Romance worth a listen, and once again prove Fontaines D.C.’s versatility.

Rating: 7/10