Fontaines D.C. have opened up about the “neon and ridiculous” sound of their latest album, ‘Romance’, as well as the band’s evolving style.
In a new interview with NME, the band’s Grian Chatten spoke about the band’s new album, which he described as their “most expansive and full album” to date. The futuristic-sounding ‘Romance’ is a distinct move away from the rockier sound on debut album, ‘Dogrel’ and has been produced by James Ford. It’s set to be released on August 23 via XL Recordings (pre-order/pre-save here).
The band released ‘Here’s The Thing’ as one of the album’s singles earlier this month (following on from ‘Starburster’ and ‘Favourite’), complete with a horror-inspired video.
On the process of making the album, Chatten told NME: “To be creatively understood by too many people feels like flies settling all over your clothes and all other your face. Every now and again you have to fucking shake them off, just to see who you are again. That’s what we wanted to do.
“We spoke a lot about visual references, films and stuff like that. I’m not even messing, but we used to speak about: ‘What kind of weather is it in this song?’ We could meet on a plain that didn’t have anything to do with music, arrangements or instruments. It’s more about abstractly getting to the right place. I think it’s more interesting to work in that way because you’re at less danger of sounding contrived or unoriginal.”
Speaking about the album’s touch points and on being compared to a ‘futuristic anime film’ by NME, he added: “That’s what it sounds like to me. Isn’t that interesting? It doesn’t sound like the soundtrack or anything from Akira, but it evokes those images. I find that a much more interesting way to write than creating a Spotify playlist of guitar tones. We spoke about pigeons taking flight at dawn, the Shibuya scramble, the feeling of a million people passing by but not seeing each other in their own world, the race to work in the morning, things like that.
“I don’t mean this in a bad way at all, but parts of the west coast of America feel like death to me. It feels like there’s something incredibly morbid about it, but also fantastical and dreamlike. It feels like the pearly gates. That brings an overwhelming feeling of comfort and everything’s very soft lit, but it’s terrifying at the same time. That’s something that gave me inspiration too.”
He went on to expand on the band’s new sound, and on comparisons to ‘KoRn’ and ‘cyberpunk’, which fits in with the band’s changing, more broodier aesthetic.
Chatten added: “Some of the music is exaggerated in that sense. The colours that I hear in the music are not colours that you’d find in nature. The songs sound neon and ridiculous. In order to communicate that idea thoroughly, I didn’t want to go out on stage dressed the same as I was for ‘Dogrel’ or whatever. I wanted to put the audience in the right mindset to render them sensitive to the message we were trying to convey.”
In a five star review of the band’s fourth album, NME said: “Where predecessor ‘Skinty Fia’ was steadfast in communicating its central themes (from guilt and disillusionment to new beginnings), ‘Romance’ takes its time unravelling.
“Part glowing love song, part troubled revelation, ‘In The Modern World’ foregrounds dystopian imagery against a muted hallucinatory haze. A desperate, self-lacerating urge to destroy is wrapped up in some futuristic sheen on ‘Starburster’: “I wanna take the truth without a lens on it / My God-given insanity, it depends on it,” Chatten spits breathlessly, as though he’s a single chord change away from melting down entirely.”
After the long-awaited ‘Romance’ album drops later this week, Fontaines D.C. will perform on the main stage at Reading & Leeds 2024. This will be followed by their 2024 UK and Ireland headline tour, which is set to take place in November and December. That stint includes two nights at Alexandra Palace in the capital.
That isn’t it for their live shows either, as last week the group also unveiled news of a huge outdoor show at London’s Finsbury Park, due to take place on Saturday July 5, 2025. It will mark the Irish band’s biggest headline performance to date, with support coming from Amyl And The Sniffers and Kneecap.
Find a full list of upcoming tour dates below, and visit here for any remaining tickets.
Fontaines D.C.’s upcoming UK and Ireland headline dates are:
NOVEMBER 2024
20 – The Halls, Wolverhampton
22 – Alexandra Palace, London
23 – Alexandra Palace, London
24 – Utilita Arena, Cardiff
26 – Pavilions, Plymouth
27 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
29 – Aviva Studios, Manchester
30 – Aviva Studios, Manchester
DECEMBER 2024
1 – Aviva Studios, Manchester
3 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
4 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
6 – 3Arena, Dublin
7 – 3Arena, Dublin
JULY 2025
5 – Finsbury Park, London
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