When an album starts with the line ‘into the darkness again’, and then ends with the bubbly, shiny sound of a song about someone who is simply your ‘Favourite’, it’s difficult not to view that album as a journey from dark to light. And that’s a narrative that stands the test of repeated listens. Starting with the more gothic, crunchier sounds of ‘Romance’ and ‘Starburster’, the LP screeches towards a more passive middle section, before ending on some of the band’s cheeriest and most optimistic music so far.
That journey across the album is also reflective of the band’s career to date. From the raw post punk of Dogrel, they have slowly changed their sound on each LP, staying true to their central identity, but becoming increasingly accessible and working towards a wider appeal. Romance is definitely their most accessible album so far.
How you feel about Romance will probably depend on how you feel about that career trajectory. Personally, I have mixed feelings about the way they have evolved over time and so, subsequently, I have mixed feelings about their latest album. I definitely feel they were a more exciting band when they were shouting about how big they were going to be and telling us that life isn’t always empty. But they feel like a more accomplished band now that they’re talking to us about ‘Desire’ and being ‘In The Modern World.’
So again, your feelings on Romance might depend on whether you prefer your bands to be doing new, exciting things, or sounding accomplished and complete.
But, anyway, now that I’ve told you how you night feel about the album, let me try and explain where my mixed feelings come from.
It’s probably worth explaining at this point, that I don’t listen to singles before an album comes out. This means that, on my first play through the album, songs such as ‘In The Modern World’, ‘Here’s The Thing’, and ‘Starburster’ were brand new to me. The latter of those, in particular, is the epitome of what Fontaines DC do well in my eyes. It’s bold and bright, but dark and dingy – it allows Grian Chatten to make the most of his sing/talk delivery, and it pushes the sound of indie rock to somewhere less definable. ‘Here’s The Thing’ isn’t as original, but it’s got that aggressive push that made the band so originally appealing. And ‘In The Modern World’ brings this band’s various sounds together – it’s anthemic and emotional, but never passive or drab. Those songs being new to my ear definitely gave me an added boost on early listens. ‘Starbuster’, in particular, is one of the best songs of the year.
And I think the album is great, or at least pretty strong, all the way up to ‘Bug’ – a track which is lyrically strong with a truly catchy chorus. But as the album continues on that journey from dark to light that I mentioned earlier, I suppose it was inevitable that somewhere, in the middle of all that, there had to be a section that was simply dull. I don’t understand what the point of the songs ‘Motorcycle Boy’, ‘Sundowner’, and ‘Horseness is the Whatness’ is, unless they were an early audition to be a support act on the upcoming Oasis tour. I pointed out some troubling hints to a ‘Britpop legends’ sort of sound on Skinty Fia, and that is truly realised here. This is the point of the album where that move towards accessibility, towards a wider appeal, results in a loss of the vitality that made them so exciting in the first place.
The album does pick up significantly with ‘Death Kink’, a song full of personality that only Fontaines DC could have made. But then we end with ‘Favourite’ – a song that couldn’t more perfectly sum up my feelings about Romance if it tried. It is undoubtedly a good song in so many conventional ways, but it also feels like an impersonation, not unique in any way, devoid of the things that gave Fontaines DC their identity.
So in the end, I do feel much the same way as I felt about Skinty Fia. There are moments on Romance that I would trust no other band on the planet to deliver with such skill and verve, but the album falls short of classic status because of moments where the songs sound lifeless and too much like their influences. But at least 30% of this album is outstanding, at least another 30% is good-to-great, and the remaining 40% is at least listenable. The standout moments will keep me coming back regularly and I can’t wait to see those songs on stage in November.
Words by Fran Slater
Picky Bastards 
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