Just over a year after their critically lauded debut, Fontaines D.C. are back for more — and this time around, things are different.
The success of their first album Dogrel came with its downsides and the Dublin five-piece were swallowed up by a relentless touring schedule. A Hero’s Death sees the post-punk rockers dissect the disarray; the title track is a direct response to the reaction to Dogrel, as Grian Chatten delivers a poetic manifesto: “Don’t give up too quick/You only get one line, you better make it stick.”
Tempo-wise, the band have taken things down a notch but lyrically speaking, their offerings are just as punchy as before. Angst-ridden opener I Don’t Belong kicks things off with a brooding look at their sense of self, a darkness descending as Chatten recites the title line with two crucial additional words: “To anyone.”
A number of tracks were sketched out before Dogrel and serve as a real-time documentation of their success; Televised Mind is an abstract portrait of Chatten’s innermost thoughts. Stripped-back ballad No brings things to a triumphant close, making it clear that while the last year has changed the band, their talents haven’t been dulled in the slightest.
