Fontaines D.C. are just one of those bands. They come along every now and then, bands that make you want to sit up and take notice.
Sometimes it’s difficult to put your finger on what it is that makes them so good, they just have it.
The band’s debut album ‘Dogrel’ set the tone last year when it burst onto the scene achieving both critical acclaim and cult status, a rare feat.
Tracks like ‘Big’, ‘Television Screens’, ‘Roy’s Tune’ and ‘Boys in the Better Land’ showcased the band’s raw songwriting talent as well their spellbinding lyrics.
Here was a band unfazed by expectations and being labeled, a band dripping in authenticity and most importantly a band with some absolutely killer songs.
Now the boys from Dublin are back with a new album barely a year after their first release.
Never ones for following conventions Fontaines D.C. clearly felt they had the tunes to merit such a quick follow up, and they were absolutely right.
‘A Hero’s Death’, to its credit, is a markedly different record from ‘Dogrel’.
The band can feel vindicated in their choice of recording the LP in sunny California.
Who knew that surf-rock guitar lines and Beach Boys-esque backing vocals would complement the Dubliners so well?
That’s not to say things are going swimmingly for the band though, as ‘A Hero’s Death’ undoubtedly processes their complex relationship with their newfound fame.
Opener ‘I Don’t Belong’ proudly states the band’s defiance in being claimed as anyone’s saviours, with frontman Grian Chatten offering up “I don’t belong to anyone, I don’t want to belong to anyone” for all the world to see.
It’s a theme that resonates throughout the record crescendoing in ‘I Was Not Born’ with the ubiquitous statement “I was not born into this world to do another man’s bidding.”
The album does have a softer side to it, something the band proved themselves to be more than capable of on ‘Dogrel’. ‘You Said’ is a particular highlight, worming its way into your head and your heart with a blissful sense of melancholy that Chatten delivers effortlessly at this point.
‘A Hero’s Death’ is an album that immediately recognises that things will never be the same for Fontaines D.C. in the wake of their previous success and encourages the listener to grow alongside the band, rather than hope for more of the same.
Those hoping for a carbon copy of the band’s last album may be disappointed, but shouldn’t be surprised, this is not a band interested in playing it safe.
‘A Hero’s Death’ might not have the sheer edge of its predecessor, but it more than makes up for it with a newfound sense of pensiveness that can only be achieved by a band at peak maturity.
Given that ‘A Hero’s Death’ is only Fontaines D.C. second album, that maturity is almost as impressive as the record itself, almost. Listen to the album in full here.
