Fonatines DC went from playing roughly 40 shows in 2018, to over 150 last year. The overwhelming nature of the sudden acclaim and attention had really affected them at points. According to interviews done by the band recently, with ‘A Hero’s Death’ being their outlet from the very busy touring schedule for the debut album, ‘Dogrel’. Many fans will be taken aback with which its pace at times and yearn for the rougher sounds of their earlier releases (prior to their debut record). However I feel like this second album comes from the same place as the first LP, essentially being the other side of the coin with a whole new perspective and experiences.
Grian Chatten described himself as a people pleaser at times and with your music being out to the world for the first time to be adored or critiqued, it must be a challenging process. The opener of the album seems to be an antidote for that nature of behaviour as ‘I Don’t Belong’ sets the scene of the album in the most gloomy and brutal way, which is a far cry from the ‘Dogrel’ opening moments. The song begins with the gloomy guitar riff and Grian’s iconic delivery enters, talking about how he simply does not want to…belong to anyone. It stays constant the music within it and works to effect. ‘Love Is the Main Thing’ follows and embodies the statement of the lyrics so well. The guitars have a tone that just makes them feel so distant from you and the song finishes like it’s leaving you, reinforcing that sense of loneliness within the lyrics.
The single ‘Television Mind’ was something that took me by surprise as they nail their own take on something the The Prodigy would do!? The tension is built so well with the opening bass line and creates an echo chamber that leaves you feeling like you are stuck raving and chanting along. Grian described the song as being about how personality can be stripped away by sounding approval and how trapped so many people are within their own chambers, as they do not want to be seen as wrong by others. Overall its a fantastic single that offers a great take on thought and musically, a moody but rave esq track that will be a lot of fun live for fans.
A lot is going on the next song and with the banging drum at the start, the rush of ‘A Lucid Dream’ begins. A really cool guitar line happens throughout the song but its the drumming that really stands out on this one! Lyrically the band are tackling the how unreal the sudden raise to acclaim the band had; it feeling like they were not really in touch with reality and that they were becoming parts of Fontaines and losing their own individual identity. ‘You Said’ has a very Foo’s like guitar and out of nowhere you can hear Grian singing so softly, its so beautiful to be honest with you. The melody is really nice and is the core of the song as that guitar comes in and out, it all sounds very 90’s.
The delight of ‘Oh Such A Spring’ comes along and with its waltz beat; you feel like you should be hearing this is an Irish Pub with a pint. Interestingly, Chatten had the song for a few years but felt like he could not put out a song about looking back at a younger age, yet he was admit he wanted to put such a lovely song out after he had a few more experiences under his belt. The guitars do make me think of the LA sounds that the band had mentioned about a year ago; it really fits well with its slow and soft playing. However the song needs a god dam middle eight, it needs it, it needs it, it needs it.
The standout and lead single ‘A Hero’s Death’ comes to our ears and its such a brilliant song. The doo-woop ‘ooooooo’ makes me chuckle and is an awesome touch however the focus of the song is the intent of making the most of life. The guitar and drums drive this passion and the lyrics ‘life ain’t always empty’ runs throughout the song to reinforce the message. However my favourite lyric from the track is ‘say your favourite things at mass, tell your mother that you love her’, its so sweet and true.
‘Living In America’ will gain a lot of attention with its title and it grabbed my eye for sure and the Bass VI is prominent of this to create that tone you can hear also in ‘Hurricane Laughter’! It really is filled with a lot, it must of been tailored from a big jam while on tour in the states….just a wild guess that last bit. Next is the very Bruce opening of ‘I Was Not Born’ and is the most familiar sounding on the whole record, a definite nod to the previous album.
When Fontaines DC came out with The Beach Boys influence for this new record, I think a funny gif was the best way to describe most peoples responses to the claim. ‘Sunny’ is the definition of the statement and it is really brilliant to hear the 60’s dreamy melody and slow dance like bass, its the surprise we all wanted to hear from the band. Also the ‘lah dalllaaah laaahh’ with the strings, you can’t deny the Brian Wilson nod here.
The album finishes in a full circle and feels like this album is soundtracking you to get somewhere to make a decision on something. The closer is ‘No’ which is mellow of course and the vocals were done in one take, which is very apparent in its production. The guitars really sound like an end and it softly leaves you in the closing moments , it’s like it’s saying ‘until next time folks’.
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