Fontaines D.C. bear their hearts on “Romance”
The highly anticipated fourth album from Fontaines D.C. ended a sizzling summer with a blistering and, at times, almost boisterous bang. Although the group already has a few albums under their belt, Romance is the group’s first album after Skinty Fia brought them into the international limelight. With more eyes watching, the five-piece’s latest 11-track LP still captures the post-punk sonics that garnered fans, but this time around, the sound feels lighter and more cohesive, like a freshly trimmed haircut with shaped-up layers.
Right from the jump, Fontaines D.C. swings for the fences, setting the listener up with a tense and haunting title track juxtaposed with tender lyrics like “maybe romance is a place.” “Romance” keeps the listener on edge with an ever-growing build-up until the end. Then, like the crack of a baseball against a bat, “Romance” smashes into the hip-hop flow and guttural growls of lead single “Starburster.”
After a three-song pump-up, the fourth track “Desire” allows the listener to slow down and catch their breath. Twinkly violins and a steady-building guitar chord progression back spacy reverberating vocals, making the track feel weightless. If you’re trying to astral project, put this song on the playlist, it might help you get there.
“Sundowner” opens with wonky synths before blossoming into a cloudy mix of post-punk and grunge. The two sets of vocals in the refrain make the song feel like a conversation, just before jumping back into a single point of view. Like in “Desire,” this song also utilizes a spacious vocal reverb to enhance the mood of this back-half track.
“Death Kink,” the second to last track, has slurry vocals and driving guitars that transport the listener to a dingy dive bar. Despite the lack of precision in the singing, the lyrics are poetic and intentional, detailing the intertwining feelings of love and pain. In the final chorus, the instruments cut out, which makes the lyricism stand out, creating a moment that demands attention.
The album's imagery is also, in part, defined by the series of music videos that have accompanied the slew of singles ahead of the full release. The videos are avant garde, abstract and sometimes just plain odd. In a world where an album is up to public interpretation once it’s released, seeing music videos can give insight into how the artist envisions the album.
These macabre, visually dark, Edgar Allen Poe-esque music videos show that although the album might be called Romance, don’t expect it to be overly gushy. It’s still experimental, moody, daring and up to interpretation. Overall, this album could shape the future of Fontaines D.C. They’ve opened themselves up to more possibilities sonically, inviting more people to come on the journey with them into the strange, romantic and twisted world they’ve created.
