Fontaines DC - Romance

Fontaines D.C.'s debut on album on XL Recordings, Romance, marks both a continuation of and a tonal shift away from the sound of 2022's Skinty Fia, easing into their alt-dance-rock frenetics but also amping up a certain apocalyptic central theme. Indeed, the band mention that, going into the recording sessions for the album, they were left wondering what there 'was left at all to be romantic about', testifying an ability to channel the overarching miasma of a grim now into nonetheless fun-loving music. But Romance isn't just an embrace of hedonism while the world burns; it's more of an explosion of adrenaline, in a world where such libidinal energies might otherwise end up misplaced.