Fontaines D.C. is clearly a band undaunted to venture into that unknown.
On Romance, their fourth and latest album, they’ve crafted a collection that pushes their sound into territories distinct from all others they’ve traversed thus far, one that further solidifies their ability to evolve in pleasing and surprising ways, transcending any clutches of prior static speculations concerning where they may go after the release of Skinty Fia.
With loveable unpredictability, the record is a transportation to somewhere new. But for a band as beloved as Fontaines D.C., change isn’t always easy.
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I recently had the opportunity to speak with the band’s bassist, Conor Deegan III, to get his perspective. But first, a cultural exchange was in order.
“I was introduced to the concept of a goon party a long time ago, don’t worry,” Conor says assuringly. My nerves calmed, I asked if Ireland had an equivalent pastime. “Just getting a really dodgy stream of a boxing match on your laptop and then going outside with your mates in the breaks to fight,” he said.
Despite this scrappy sentiment, Romance sees the band embrace their softer side. From the disjointed, lilting opening title track to the bedroom-poppy singalong Favourite, the band muses on love and pain, glossier and dreamier than ever before.
Conor tells me despite being the album’s closer, Favourite was actually the first song written for Romance.
“We recorded that with James Ford last summer,” Conor says. “We came up with it around March 2022, during rehearsals for Skinty Fia. We had it ready before we even went on tour for Skinty Fia, just sitting on it, excited about where it could take us.”
When asked if Favourite served as a sort of guiding light for the rest of the album, Conor paused.
“I think we thought of it that way for a bit, but we really wanted to shake things up. We were on the road a lot, and that changed how we made music. We couldn’t jam like we used to. We couldn’t get to rehearsal rooms, so we started writing on our laptops in hotel rooms, experimenting with instruments we wouldn’t normally use because you have that music software… so I think that kind of condition of living affects us a lot in line with some new influences as well.”
The last track that found its way onto the album was Here’s The Thing, one of the more frenetic, upbeat offerings on the record. The band already come up with around 30 demos for the project but decided to add it on at the last minute.
“We just wrote it after… well, actually, they’ve said it already, but yeah. Carlos and Grian had a pretty nasty fight. After we reconciled, we wrote that song.”
The transition from Skinty Fia to Romance has been marked by significant change, particularly in aesthetics and live performances. The band have turned towards vibrancy, dressing with a newfound sense of boldness and forgoing Skinty Fia’s moody red for hot pink. Conor shed light on some of the influences behind this evolution.
“There was that tour with Arctic Monkeys,” Conor explained. “It was interesting to see how a band that is still essentially four guys playing traditional instruments at this stage… and making their live show interesting to look at, or engaging, for a huge scale.”
He continued, “They’re still making it interesting for themselves. They’re creating a world in their last few records that can be kind of lived in for a while, and that’s a really hard thing to do with those instruments.”
The Arctic Monkeys tour inspired Fontaines D.C. to think deeper about worldbuilding and to push themselves past what felt comfortable.
“It just takes much desperate hard work to get that across. We had to look inside ourselves, each of us differently, as individuals and say, ‘How do we bring out these new aspects? And how do we push it?'” he tells me.
“To be honest, a lot of it was just doing things with personal style that we’d always wanted to do, that we didn’t have the courage to do. After we had opened up this conversation with each other, we’d realise, you know, ‘I’d always wanted to get grills’ or ‘I’d always wanted to do something mad for my hair’. There was some kind of limitation we’d been putting on ourselves, which is stupid to say, but it’s the truth. And we just went for it.”
The new outfits and aesthetic choices allow the band to lean all the way in to their new era: “I think that if we were still wearing, you know, blazers or something and making this music, it would really be a massive disappointment to Starburster or the songs.”
As Fontaines D.C. unveils their latest chapter, their evolution and dedication to their craft shine through, setting the stage for what promises to be a compelling new era. Romance is in the air, and it’s safe to say the future is looking bright for Fontaines D.C.
“I think the record is my favourite we’ve done because we took risks and they’re risks I can really stand behind because they’re bold, you know? They’re not boring fucking risks.”
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