Will our fans keep their interest if they can’t see us live, the band members of Fontaines DC wondered when their second album was released A Hero’s Death in the summer of 2020. The lockdown was a curse and a blessing for the band from Dublin. Touring was out of the question for a while and the musicians were gasping for a breather, after they had been almost constantly ‘on the road’ for three years. During the lockdown they made a lot of new music; the third album Skinty Fia (The curse of the deer) is about to come true.
And yes, public interest not only stayed, but grew. This week Fontaines DC gave three club appearances in the Netherlands that felt like a triumph. In June, the band will perform at Best Kept Secret and, after a two-year delay, is now one of the top acts there. On Wednesday the five set the full Rondazaal of TivoliVredenburg on fire with their own music that has outgrown post-punk.
Also read the interview with Fontaines DC: ‘Rock ‘n’ roll is no longer a form of rebellion’
More than in traditional rock songs, the band acts in tightly dressed mantras, such as the many times repeated “Life ain’t always empty” with which the quintet shook off the lost time. Singer Grian Chatten is not the most stable vocalist, but he sings-says his Irish street poetry with great conviction. Between tried and tested crowd pleasers like ‘Boys in the Better Land’ and ‘Big’ with the indestructible opening line „Dublin in the rain is mine”, the new material still sounded a bit unfamiliar. All the more so because Fontaines DC seems to shift the accent from fierce guitar rock to a more electronic base.
They have the guts to name a new song ‘I Love You’. It had a robust Irish heartbeat that made it transcend any cliché.