‘Romance is a Place’ - Review of Fontaines D.C. at Factory International (Aviva Studios)

If Romance were a place, it would have been this one. The starkly contemporary venue, Aviva Studios, houses the rich cultural heritage orchestrated by Factory International, synonymous with the fresh yet well-bedded roots of ex-BIMM boys Fontaines DC. With the release of their debut album Dogrel in 2019 swiftly followed by A Hero’s Death in 2020 and their poignantly placed Skinty Fia in 2022, FDC’s much-anticipated Romance, released in August this year, is now (rightfully) highly acclaimed, awarded Album of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine earlier this week. The tour honouring ‘their instant classic of a fourth record’ continued in Manchester last evening and shall aptly conclude in Dublin next Saturday.

My infatuation with the Dublin post-punks was undoubtedly delayed. The first rule of BIMM learned through the torturous experiences of my peers, is never to trust a BIMM boy and only ever listen to them if indubitably necessary. Like all the best discoveries in the modern world, the band presented themselves to me as they soundtracked an Instagram story of a long-forgotten high school acquaintance, and aren’t I glad they did. From the moment I heard the quintessentially indie-guitar jangle of Favourite, I was at their disposal. Consider this dreamer claimed from their dream.  

The evening commenced with a set from North London indie rock band Sorry. Throughout the support, the plasmas read ‘WHO THE F@CK IS SORRY?’, a question I have yet to answer. The assumed unintentional irony of their backdrop has to be the most notable aspect of their set. Ruined by the obnoxiously invasive lead guitar, leaving the lead singer sufficiently drowned beneath the thrashing, crashing waves of their over-electrified sound. You know when your chest is reverberating as much as the bass amps that something’s gone array. A support set to be lost upon the impact of Ireland’s finest.

The infamous curtain drop prompted copious crowd chortles from the myriad of middle-aged mothers, post-their-prime-punks, and flocks of frivolous teens. Opening with the dark and ominous title track Romance, the disturbing dissonance enthralled the on-lookers, priming them for the hour-and-a-half speechless spectacle to follow.

Their eclectic collection of sounds summarises the bold body of work that the band have to offer just five years after their debut album. Fan favourite Jackie Down the Line ensnared the moshers with its tight backline hanging as an invitation for engagement. The riotous duo of Televised Mind and A Lucid Dream followed before the comparingly mellow, comforting indie hum of Roman Holiday and Big Shot.

Played amongst the sounds of their past, the band’s artistic progression and development, evidenced by Sundowner, Here’s the Thing, and Bug was (and is) astounding. Whilst it’s often the second-album-scaries that are noted, following the debilitating success of a debut, FDC’s maintained trajectory over their four-albums-in-five-years is nothing less than legendary. Their most recent work, daring and genre-defying by nature, was a risk worth taking. The band’s XL recordings release pays homage to their past and the cocktails of inspiration devoured throughout the construction of Romance.

Followed by the gnarly Narbokov and a bounce with the Boys in the Better Land, the set seemingly finished with Favourite, an undeniable front-runner for song of the year. Returning to the stage with the pensive and thought-provoking prose of In the Modern World and Desire, the penultimate punch delivered by cult classic I Love You was a dam-near knock out – the crowd only to be resurrected by Starburster. The synthesised sounds combined with the painfully emotive lyrics made for an ethereal end to this life experience, only enhanced by illuminations that could put Blackpool to shame.

Selfishly, it saddens me that the success and charisma of my favourite Dublin five-piece means they’re set for nothing but stardom. Grian’s wistful charisma faultlessly captivated the entire crowd with nothing more than a mid-set ‘Hello Manchester’. Nothing these days says future superstar like the defiance of stage-bound small talk.

If you fancy catching the boys in Manchester, tickets are still available for their Wythenshawe Park show next summer!