Romance is a place.
The tagline of Fontaines D.C.'s new album sets the landscape for the picture that these songs paint. They five-piece band are innovators, always moving forward, always pushing harder to create something undefinable. Romance can't be put into just one genre box; it is so much larger than simply the word that decides which category it'll be put into on streaming services. It combines moments of 90s-like rap with a shoegaze and industrial feel, and it's all so uniquely them. Each album is an evolution, and we as listeners are given a timeline of how they've grown and their outlook on life has changed.
Track one, "Romance", is certainly unforgettable. The choice to use the title track as the opener shows that they want to really set the scene and bring home the idea that romance is a place. The song is haunting. It could easily used in some sort of horror movie. The eeriness left me in a rather pleasantly surprised state, it was not the direction in which I assumed the album would go based off of the singles released.
But then, we get a direct transition into "Starburster" which by far is the catchiest on the album. It has a distinct earworm, "I'm gon' hit your business if it's momentary blissness." When the single was first released, the chorus did not leave my mind for several weeks. It was all I could listen to. The song has a sort of magnetic pull to it, something about it feels so dark and dim but it's invigorating.
Singer Grian Chatten has confirmed that the song is about a panic attack he once had at a train station. While the song is rather explosive, it also holds elements of anxiousness, most thoroughly conveyed through the sharp breaths taken after each line of the chorus. I also feel it in the faint buzzing at the beginning of song and during the quieter moments. I can't help but think that was purposeful, given that a lot of time with anxiety comes headaches and dizziness, which, for me, can lead to that momentary buzzing in my ears. Everything about this song, and the whole album, was made with extreme detail and purpose.
Track three, "Here's The Thing" strikes me as a song of understanding. It almost has a level of numbness to it. "To be anesthetized, and crave emotion / So beautiful to hurt so well." It has that sort of 90s grunge energy that seems to have been the backbone for a lot of this project.
"Desire" is absolutely breathtaking. The lyrical content has been heavy on my mind since the first time I listened to it. Desire is such a maleable feeling, it comes and goes with different intensities, and Fontaines D.C. managed to hit it from every angle. The track touches on how we are designed with our "mortal attire" to be a certain way, to live certain lives. We fall so deeply into this facade that we lose ourselves and lose our true desires. Instead, we watch as life passes us by, going so painstakingly slow, wishing for different circumstances.
"Every 24 wretchin' with desire / All 24 wretchin' with desire," Chatten sings. My assumption is that 24 is referring to the age, as all members of the band are in their mid to late 20s. So many people talk about being lost in your 20s, but others say those are the best years of your life, and it creates expectations regarding something as uncontrollable as age. If George Orwell's 1984 were a song, I believe it would be this one.
Again moving along with the numbness and oppression that our society provides us with, "In The Modern World" holds the same sentiment. On the song, Chatten told Vogue, "I always wanted to write that song but never knew how." The track is rather somber; it's simoultaneously brimming with emotion and discouragingly numb. Living in our modern world is an easy way to lose all feeling, and that's exactly the angle this track was going for.
"Bug" is one of the most cryptic on the album. Trying to decode it is impossible, but its ambiguity makes it more exciting. It incorporates acoustic guitar with clever rhyming and unique vocal intonations. "Motorcycle Boy" emphasizes the idea that seems to reign superior on this album: We're all feeling too much emotion and not enough at the same time. Really, I'm having a hard time putting into words some of the points these songs are touching on. The way they've chosen to articulate their ideas is completely their own, and while I understand what they're saying, it's rather diffiuct to explain. That should speak for itself.
Fontaines D.C. chose to experiment with some shoegaze elements, too. "Sundowner" brings that home the most. The synthy beginning slides right into some distorted guitar and Have A Nice Life-like drumming. Some songs so clearly strike me as ones to listen in certain environments, and this one feels like it should be listened to on a rainy day in the car, water droplets distorting the lights outside. Once again, it holds that numbness that seems to be a result of feeling too much.
"Horseness Is The Whatness" truly left me in awe. It has that slightly industrial style drumming paired with soft strings, and minimal other noise. The song is so simple and yet it says so much. "Will someone / Find out what the word is / That makes the world go round? / 'Cause I thought it was 'love' / But some say / That it has to be 'choice' / I read it in some book / Or an old packet of smokes."
There is something so powerful about those lyrics. We know that the album revolves around the idea of romance and the line between it being physical and emotional. I grew up hearing that love is what our purpose is here, to show love and to receive it. They bring up that maybe our purpose is choice. Love takes so much to feel, and some poeple don't ever get that pleasure. But what we do all encounter everyday is the option to choose. Everything is a choice, and we must encounter it to continue living (or dying).
The last line of the song says, "You choose or you exist." That touched me like no other lyric in this album.
In a borderline Nirvana-like intro, "Death Kink" opens the doors back into their 90s grunge vibe, but it also mixes in a little bit of that hip-hop element from "Starburster". I've always admired their ability to show listeners who their influences are while still making the music completely their own. There's so much to take away from this one. Chatten uses a speaking style in many parts and overall just delivers the lyrics in a really cool way. "Must be some amount of truth in the joke / For it to make you laugh, ha ha ha!" The ha-ha-ha at the end of that verse is my favorite because it sounds so mocking.
This whole project has been pretty heavy on both the lyrcial and melodic sides of the equation. "Favourite" was the perfect way to close the album because it's a little lighter, a little more feel-good, though the message still fully aligns with the rest of the album.
Visually, Romance holds a neon eclecticness. The band has been known to completely change up their image for each album cycle, and this is no different. From new hairstyles to new outfit choices, it all shows the transition into a fresh start. This is a magnificent fourth album from the band and I look forward to hearing these songs live on their fall tour!
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