Romance

Is Romance their best album? Possibly. The best rock album of the year so far? Certainly.

‘Romance’ is the band’s most considered and intricately crafted release yet.

An album of impeccably considered concepts championed by songwriting that refuses to let the Dublin outfit down.

Romance is more straightforwardly approachable than any Fontaines DC album to date – you can easily imagine Desire provoking an immense crowd into singing along. But it doesn’t sacrifice any of the band’s potency in the process: thrillingly, it still carries the same grimy, careworn, aggressive qualities as their previous work.

Romance is the most diverse record Fontaines D.C. has made yet and, at various intervals, is one of the most perplexing releases of 2024 that I’ve encountered, simply because its high points are such skyscraping milestones that even the mundane “low points” aren’t banal enough to sound derivative or uninspired.

Though not every experiment lands—the ethereal “Sundowner” comes across like Slowdive-lite—Romance is thrilling in its willingness to subvert what you thought you knew about Fontaines D.C.

Fontaines D.C.’s previous efforts were acclaimed, and rightfully so, but Romance should be considered a high-water mark for them, a work that is equally challenging and considerably more gratifying.

[James] Ford's renowned ability to bring together ambitiously decadent ideas reigns supreme here. Helping orchestrate a throughline of this patchwork of ideas pays dividends as the grander character and geographical work of their past makes way for more personal offerings as they turn inward, processing the world they inhabit, rather than the one they've mused upon previously.

It’s a stunning record, one of depth but also immediacy; it exists to be adored.

It seems everything they touch turns to gold and Romance is a fully realized album that is colorful, flashy, and ominous and loaded with subtly catchy hooks that beg to be heard over and over again.

Fontaines D.C. finally sound like they're in that better land, shedding their skins with an infectious grin and an even more infectious pack of choruses. Dare you to try and not smile along.

It’s great, urgent music. Sad and enticing.

The Metallica-aping opening riff and punching electronics-assisted kick of the title-track tell of new territory setting you up for something much larger-sounding than any of the previous three records, but that’s aided by a refined, popcentric approach.

Their most outward-looking, most complete, most rewarding album to date.

When all is said and done, they remain fantastic songwriters, able to convey a variety of emotions without relying on the trappings of punk. The corners may have been sanded off, but it has only revealed new and interesting textures underneath.

Romance delivers: the record is wildly expansive, and Fontaines’ bullheaded integrity still stands, perhaps with a stronger spine than ever.

Breezy, Smiths-esque indie folk closer called “Favourite”, featuring a guitar riff that could’ve fallen off Viva La Vida…, evinces the depth and richness that new producer James Ford (replacing Dan Carey) has brought to the band on a record that leaves post-punk in its dust and roars off into broad new horizons. Potential fulfilled.

This is no elementary Valentine's card; it's a treacherous and wonderfully unreliable encyclopedia of romance.

This record, their most adventurous so far, pairs the band with a new producer, James Ford, who has worked with everyone from Blur and Depeche Mode to Arctic Monkeys and the Pet Shop Boys. The new pairing seemingly pushed the band to expand their sound a bit, making for a strongly compelling evolution.

[Grian] Chatten’s role feels ever more pivotal. His voice now has multiple personae, notably a Jeff Buckley doppelgänger on Romance’s upper register peals. His lyrical flow, meanwhile, makes pretty much every song an event. [Sep 2024, p.82]

Some of their best, most expansive music yet. [Sep 2024, p.132]

It feels as though the band have carved out a new sonic space for them to operate in while still retaining their own identity. [Sep 2024, p.32]

The brilliance of Romance lies in its unsettling blend of antic energy with refined craft—in the depths of detachment, Fontaines D.C. strike an engaging pose.