Tag: Fontaines D.C.

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Favourite Albums of 2024

Posted on by Michael

5. The Libertines – All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade: Truth be told, this is not the fifth best album of 2024 hence why I always title these lists as “favourite albums”. As a fan for over 20 years, The Libertines were welcomed back with their first album since 2015. With all their troubles, the tabloid headlines and the “highs and the lows”, this band should not still exist today but here we are. First single “Run Run Run” has Pete Doherty and Carl Barat’s classic knees-up sound while “Shiver” is full of graceful beauty in a modern rock song. A now classic British rock band.

4. Idles – TANGK: Others jumped on the Idles train long before I did. Their hard edge sound wasn’t quite for me but I always enjoyed the introspective interviews with singer Joe Talbot. Finally in 2024 the band released an album with slightly softer edges that drew me in. The attention grabbing video for single “Grace” was mesmerizing and the album would later get plenty of spins on car rides home from work. The band haven’t gotten better, I just started to pay more attention. Time to investigate the back catalogue….

3. Jessica Pratt – Here In The Pitch: The American singer-songwriter’s fourth studio album came out to universal critical acclaim in the late spring. The dreamy, atmospheric country lounge sound is timeless. Starting with the wonderous single, “Life Is”, the short album is the perfect length in which to float into the listeners conscious before disappearing again into the ether. A truly unique talent.

2. Fontaines D.C. – Romance: Since appearing on the international scene in 2019, this Dublin band has made frequent appearances on this blog’s year end lists. For their 2024 album Romance, the band’s appearance has taken on a look of a Nu Metal band from 1997. For other bands it would be the moment that they jumped the shark, however, on Romance the band sound as vital as they did on their debut. Songs like “In The Modern World”, “Favourite” and “Starburster” rank among their very best. Ones to really believe in, they don’t make rock bands like this very often anymore.

1. English Teacher – This Could be Texas: The young band’s debut album won the prestigious Mercury Music award in the fall of 2024. Five of the album’s tracks were released as singles and showcase singer Lily Fontaine’s unique generational voice and lyrics. However, this is a true band as each of the four members shine throughout on tracks like “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab” and double time beat of “Nearly Daffodils”. Each song inhabits it’s own world on this brilliant debut album.

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10 Favourite Songs of 2024

Posted on by Michael

10. Marshmello and Kane Brown – Miles On It: The cheese factor gets ratcheted up to 10 on this club ready country track. The country style verses of double entendres while singing about a truck gets cranked up when the beat kicks in on the chorus. I probably heard this about 20 times while driving the family around Nova Scotia on a family vacation and every time it came on, the radio got turned up a little bit louder.

9. Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy):  When this track first started getting airplay in the spring, I was shocked that it was a new song and not something that’s been around for 10 years. After really listening, its easy to hear why.  The song incorporates J-Kwon’s 2004 hit “Tipsy” and the acoustic guitar strumming sounds very similar to Oasis “Wonderwall”. Another country song about drinking is not what the world needed but Shaboozey takes all these influences and makes it his own on the infectious single. 

8. The Smile – I Quit: The downtempo track appears towards the end of The Smile’s second album, Wall of Eyes. I first heard the lyrics “I quit/This is the end of my trip” shortly after abruptly quitting a new job that did not work out as expected. I heard it while out walking on a gloomy wintry day that was more wet than cold. To hear that in that moment was exactly what I needed. I started a terrific new job just a few weeks later.

7. Vampire Weekend – Capricorn: A lyrically unique song tipping it’s cap to those born late in the year. Ezra Koenig’s vocals sound echoey that give the song a dreamy quality over a bed of music that is percussion heavy but with pretty piano lines and deep bass. It’s a really well crafted, terrific single from a solid album.

6. Travis – Bus: Somewhere along the line I lost track of Scottish band Travis. They’ve continued releasing albums while I had moved onto other things. While listening quite a bit to their second album, The Man Who this year, I decided to give their newest album The L.A. Times a try. A fine record that starts with this classy single. It’s a wistful track that sounds lovely with the mournful string section. Travis is back and for the first time in ages, I was back with them.

5. The Libertines – Shiver: The Libertines returned in 2024 with their first album in 9 years. Released early in the new year, “Shiver” is a look back over the majesty of the Albion empire. It’s a classically, elegantly wasted track that is one of their finest.

4. English Teacher – R&B: An updated version of a song the band originally released in 2021, Lily Fontaine’s sings of writing songs for others and not herself on this fiery anthem. The grungy bass of Nicholas Eden gives the track an edge of menace that really bursts into life in the final outro. Listening to Fontaine makes me feel how I felt the first time I heard Poly Styrene from punk band X-Ray Spex. A vital new voice in indie rock music.

3. Idles – Grace: One of the eye catching images in 2024 was seeing Coldplay’s video for “Yellow” on the screen while Idles’ single “Gossip” played over top. The song has a strong low end while singer Joe Talbot sings of “make me pure” and “love is the thing”. It’s a mantra tailor made for these times before it all ends with a snippet that sounds like The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life”.

2. Jessica Pratt – Life Is: The first song on her latest album, “Life Is” sounds like a country song beamed in from another planet. The dreamy vocal makes it sound timeless. While the music doesn’t change too much throughout the tune, it’s Pratt’s voice that swirls around and captures the emotion. It’s a song that can be listened to again and again and discover something new in every repeat.

1. Fontaines D.C. – Starburster: The first single off the band’s 2024 album sounds exactly like it’s title. The track sees singer Grian Chatten spitting out words like a champion rapper on a song that always keeps the kick drum kicking until the relief of the breakdown. It’s a genre smashing track that is an anthem, the chaotic lyrics will have listeners wishing for a new salamander and feel like they can take on the world, burstering some stars along the way. The appearance on Jimmy Fallon was my go to listen as it captures the band in full flight. Iconic.

Posted in Album Reviews

Fontaines D.C. – Romance (2024)

Posted on by Michael

For their 4th album in 6 years, Fontaines D.C. enlisted arguably the producer of the year in James Ford.  Several of the tunes take on a gothic feel including the title track where singer Grian Chatten comes on like a louche vampire as he sings that we’re “into the darkness again”.  “Desire” adds strings on a track where “they drown their wishes in the fountain like their fathers before”.

“In the Modern World” is mostly just a guitar with strings that adds a stellar chorus, sometimes it’s the quieter songs that grab the attention on one of the album’s highlights. On the flip side, the listener doesn’t know what they are in for as the elegant piano tickling of “Starburster” gets pushed to the background when the drum kick of Tom Coll takes centre stage and Chatten spits out rhymes with an MC’s energy on one of the songs of the year.   As the fog starts to lift, second single “Favourite” closes out the album on a happier/poppier track. The band planned this all along, take the listener through a dark journey and ending in the light.

Romance sees the Irish lads incorporate several different styles as they continue to be one of the hardest working bands around.  Leaving room for songs like “Bug” which is a more straightforward rock song about being in a relationship that easily mixes in with their darker, more complicated songs.  Fontaines D.C.’s debut album Dogrel got rock fans of all ages excited and it’s thrilling to see the band continue to impress four albums later on a standout album.

8.5/10

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10 Favourite Songs of 2022

Posted on by Michael

10. Yard Act – The Overload: I came across this track through Cillian Murphy’s recommendation on his excellent BBC podcast. The band from Leeds mixes several different genres and on the title track of their debut album, really nail their outsider status with a few pop hooks.

9. Wet Leg – Angelica: The duo from the Isle of Wight saved one of the best tracks from their debut album for a 2022 release. The energetic track really takes off when the drums explode as they sing of Angelica going to a party. Another slice of indie rock perfection from the breakout act of 2022.

8. Taylor Swift (Feat. Lana Del Rey) – Snow On The Beach: A highlight from the Swift’s highly successful Midnights album was her collaboration with Lana Del Rey. While Lana is used sparingly, she adds a bit of texture to a song that would not sound out of place on either of their albums. Hopefully this is just the first of many tracks the two work on together.

7. Tears For Fears – Long, Long, Long Time: Curt Smith takes over the vocals on this midtempo track that adds Carina Round in the chorus. Smith turns in an excellent vocal performance over a bed of shimmering synths and electronic beats. The track is one of several highlights from their very good album, The Tipping Point.

6. Fontaines D.C. – I Love You: The moody track was the second song released from the band’s very good third album, Skinty Fia. It’s a hauntingly atmospheric track that really suits singer Grian Chatten’s deadpan delivery. The love song to Dublin is like one from beyond the grave.

5. Lightning Seeds – Great To Be Alive: This jangly piece of indie pop was the first song that many had heard from Ian Broudie in several years. The upbeat track was an unusual slice of sunshine in an otherwise hard slog for many people that was 2022. Co-written with James Skelly from The Coral, it is never anything than uplifting.

4. Liam Gallagher – Moscow Rules: The third Gallagher solo album had several bangers and highlights. “Moscow Rules”, co-written with Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend, was more understated. The atmospheric track sees Liam turn in a very good vocal performance that gets amped up in the chorus as soon as the drum kicks in. With songs like this, the younger Gallagher can leave a few Oasis tunes off the setlist and add in more solo work.

3. Suede – She Still Leads Me On: Called their punk rock record, Suede released a very good album in Autofiction. One of the highlights was the first track about singer Brett Anderson’s complicated relationship with his mother. To hear him sing with this much passion about something so personal was awe inspiring as the band rocks behind him. Excellent stuff from the legendary band.

2. Beach House – Only You Know: One of the highlights from the second half of the excellent 2022 album from Beach House, “Only You Know” was never released as a single. The cascading synths match Victoria Legrand’s repeated vocals before the tumbling drums appear. A characteristically atmospheric track that easily glides along a celestial plane. The line, “every disaster comes faster and faster” is one of many that can get lodged in a listener’s head for days.

1. Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero: One of the biggest pop tracks of the year deserved all it’s attention. The inward looking track features several moments of clever wordplay that the internet would turn into many memes, specifically as Swift sings, “It’s me/hi/I’m the problem, it’s me”. That is followed by the devastating line, “I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror”. It’s something many of us could do more of in 2023. Nice work, Taylor!

Posted in Album Reviews

Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia (2022)

Posted on by Michael

The Irish lads of Fontaines D.C. return with their third album.  Skinty Fia sees the band lyrically look back across the water to their native Ireland after moves to London.  The themes of being Irish and living in the UK is examined on such tracks as the relatively upbeat “Roman Holiday”. First single “I Love You” is a love letter back to their home country over a bed of Joy Division gloom and Conor Deegan III’s low bass rumble.

Darkness opens the album with the gothic cathedral sounds of “In Ar gCroithe Go Deo” and the hypnotic line – “gone is the day, gone is the night, gone is the day”.  Singer Grian Chatten sings of love and addiction over the chiming guitars of “How Cold Love Is”. The drums of Tom Coll starts of “Jackie Down the Line” before Chatten takes over, barely taking a breath.

When the band first started making waves, it was Chatten’s deep singing style and introspective lyrics that was the focus.  As the sound expands, every member plays a key role with the drumming of Coll being a particular highlight.  Sold out shows and multiple award wins doesn’t seem to have dimmed the creative light that burns deep in Fontaines D.C. as they release another compelling album even as the rain lashes outside their British homes.

8/10