Album Review: Romance – Fontaines D.C.

Photo Courtesy of Fontaines D.C. Official Instagram

Bryce Russell | Arts and Entertainment Editor

Romance marks the fourth studio album for post-punk/new wave band Fontaines D.C., who have been steadily building popularity since their debut in 2019, both in their home country of Ireland as well as internationally. With lead singer Grian Chatten coming again to the forefront of the band after releasing solo material and being featured on other artist’s projects, Fontaines D.C. brings a strong, atmospheric fourth album.

While I don’t feel that Romance, which was released on August 23 of this year, is better than their no-skip, unbeatable third album, 2022’s Skinty Fia, it is a solid album with a handful of great tracks. Standouts for me include the spacey “Motorcycle Boy,” the haunting “In The Modern World,” the intensely electrifying “Here’s The Thing,” and my favorite track on the album (aptly named) “Favourite.”

The accented charm of Grian Chatten’s occasionally dark (but always compelling) lyrics suits the post punk genre perfectly, with “Favourite” reminiscent of Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me-era The Cure and “Starburster” giving off Joy Division vibes but with hip hop drums.

Overall, Romance is a solid album, but I don’t think I can rank it on par with Skinty Fia. Skinty Fia contained post-punk anthems like “I Love You” and “Jackie Down The Line,” where as the only song that is on that level on Romance is “Favourite” and maybe “Starburster.” The songs “Death Kink” and “Horseness is the Whatness,” while not terrible, are the weakest songs on the album, and with them being two of the last three songs on the album, I would call them skips. However, this colorful direction for Fontaines D.C. excites me, and a few of these songs will definitely be on repeat for me.

Overall Score: 3.5/5