| Fontaines D.C. | |
| Landscape: | yes |
| Origin: | Dublin, Ireland |
| Years Active: | 2017–present |
| Associated Acts: | Shame The Murder Capital |
| Current Members: |
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| Past Members: |
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Fontaines D.C. are an Irish post-punk band formed in Dublin in 2017.[1] [2] [3] The band consists of Grian Chatten (vocals), Carlos O'Connell (guitar), Conor Curley (guitar), Conor Deegan III (bass), and Tom Coll (drums).
The band members met while attending music college and bonded over a common love of poetry. They began self-releasing singles and performing live regularly, signing to Partisan Records in 2018. The band's debut album, Dogrel, was released on 12 April 2019 to widespread critical acclaim. It was listed as Album of the Year on record store Rough Trade's website,[4] voted Album of the Year by presenters on BBC Radio 6 Music,[5] and nominated for the Mercury Prize and the Choice Music Prize.[6]
The band's second studio album, A Hero's Death, written and recorded in the midst of touring to promote their debut album, was released on 31 July 2020. A Hero's Death was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Their third album, Skinty Fia, released in 2022, was the band's first to reach number one on the Irish Albums Chart and UK Albums Chart and contributed to their winning the Brit Award for International Group. The band's fourth album, Romance, will be released on 23 August 2024.
Carlos O'Connell, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan, Grian Chatten and Tom Coll met while attending music college at BIMM in The Liberties, Dublin.[7] They bonded over a common love of poetry[8] and released two collections of poetry called Vroom, inspired by the Beat poets (Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg) and Winding, inspired by Irish poets Patrick Kavanagh, James Joyce, W. B. Yeats. None of the published poems was translated into songs, but the track "Television Screens" on their debut Dogrel began as a poem and was turned into a song.[9]
Lead singer Chatten is half-English (his mother is English and his father is Irish). He was born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, but grew up in the County Fingal coastal town of Skerries, north of Dublin.[10] [11] Before starting Fontaines D.C., Chatten played in local indie rock bands Gun Runner and Thumbprint as drummer and guitarist/singer respectively.[12] [13] Coll and Deegan are from Castlebar in County Mayo, Curley is from Emyvale in County Monaghan, and O'Connell grew up in Madrid, Spain.[14] Deegan is regularly seen wearing Mayo GAA clothing during live performances.[15]
The band took their name from Johnny Fontane, a character in the movie The Godfather portrayed by Al Martino who was a singer and movie star and godson of Vito Corleone. The band was first called The Fontaines, but the initials "D.C." were added when they found that a band in Los Angeles had the same name. The initials stand for "Dublin City", despite only one band member being from Dublin.[16]
Fontaines D.C. started out self-releasing singles. In 2015 they were going to release their debut with music journalist John Robb's Louder Than War label.[17] In May 2017, the band released the single "Liberty Belle", followed by "Hurricane Laughter"/"Winter In the Sun". "Liberty Belle" was written in homage to the Liberties, a neighbourhood in Dublin where some of the band members lived.
In 2018, Fontaines released the single "Chequeless Reckless"/"Boys In The Better Land" and "Too Real". Stereogum, who premiered "Chequeless Reckless" in early 2018, described their sound as "a synthesis between post-punk, garage rock, and a kind of gritty, urbane sense of rhythm and narrative" and named them a 'Band To Watch'. In May 2018, Fontaines played an in-studio gig at KEXP in Seattle.[18] [19] In November 2018, the band signed with Partisan Records. The band toured the UK as support act for fellow post-punk band Shame.
They released music videos directed by frequent collaborator Hugh Mulhern. The video for 2018's "Too Real" was inspired by The Pogues's 1985 song, "A Pair of Brown Eyes" and the band Gilla Band. The 2019 video for "Roy's Tune", co-written by Conor Curley, was directed by Liam Papadachi. It was inspired by Curley's late night walks home from a job at a burrito shop.[20]
Fontaines received tour support from Irish Arts Council which allowed them to tour internationally.[21] [22] [23] They also received grant funding from RTÉ 2fm.[24]
On 12 April 2019, the band released their debut album Dogrel on Partisan Records. The title was a homage to Doggerel, working class Irish poetry[25] – 'poetry of the people' – that dates back to 1630 and was popularised by William McGonagall and later Ogden Nash.[26] The record was recorded live on tape.[27]
The NME said that "Dogrel proves that early-days pinning as punk’s next great hope was perhaps premature – there's far more to Fontaines D.C. than your typical thrashed-out, pissed-off young rebellion."[28] The Guardian gave the album a five-star review, hailing it as a "perfect debut", and commending Chatten for embracing the Dublin accent.[29] The Times said that "Shouty post-punk bands are making a surprise comeback in 2019, with this brutal but articulate Irish bunch emerging as one of the most captivating. Capturing the feeling of living in Dublin as it balances historical weight with financial upheaval, the singer Grian Chattan makes his statement of intent by announcing in a monotone rant on the opener, Big: “Dublin in the rain is mine, a pregnant city with a Catholic mind.""[30]
In 2019, the band toured 50 cities throughout Ireland, Europe, and North America. They have toured with Shame and Idles.[31] They played nine sets at SXSW 2019 over the course of five days, selling out venues, and count Gilla Band as a major influence.[32] They were the musical guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on 1 May 2019, performing "Boys in the Better Land".
The band was expecting to perform at the Glastonbury Festival in 2020,[33] which was to have been the festival's 50th anniversary, but the event had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[34] On 14 July 2020, Fontaines D.C. performed a live set from Dublin's Kilmainham Gaol as part of the live television series Other Voices.[35] A recording of the performance was released on vinyl as a limited edition release for Record Store Day on 12 June 2021[36] and later as a surprise digital release on 26 November 2021.[37]
The band released their second album, A Hero's Death, on 31 July 2020. The title track was released on 5 May 2020 with a video featuring actor Aidan Gillen. Chatten described the single as "a list of rules for the self". It was a tribute to one of their fans who died of COVID early in the pandemic.[38] Three further singles were released from the album: "I Don't Belong", "Televised Mind" and "A Lucid Dream". A Hero's Death debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart after Taylor Swift advanced the release date for Folklore when the midweek charts had Fontaines D.C. on top by over 10,000 copies. Swift's manoeuvre resulted in Folklore remaining at number one by 3,500 copies.[39]
The band returned to The Tonight Show as musical guests on 28 January 2021, performing "A Hero's Death". The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards.[40]
In January 2022 the band announced their third studio album, Skinty Fia, which was released on 22 April 2022. To coincide with the announcement the band shared the lead single, "Jackie Down the Line" with accompanying video.[41] They also advance-released the singles "I Love You", "Skinty Fia" and "Roman Holiday" from the album, with one described by Chatten as "the first overtly political song we’ve written."[42] Skinty Fia debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and the Irish Albums Chart.[43] In the summer of 2022 the band played European music festivals, including Primavera Sound and Glastonbury.[44] [45]
In June 2023, Chatten released a debut solo album,Chaos for the Fly.[46] In December 2023, the band announced a collaborative EP with Massive Attack and Young Fathers titled Ceasefire to raise money for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza.[47]
On April 17, 2024, the band announced their fourth album, Romance, to be released on 23 August 2024. The band released the single "Starburster" at the same time and made the album available for pre-order. [48] For Romance, the band worked with producer James Ford.[49]
Former members
Touring members
| Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE [52] | AUS [53] | BEL (FL) [54] | BEL (WA) [55] | FRA [56] | GER [57] | NLD [58] | SCO [59] | UK [60] | US Heat [61] | |||||
| Dogrel | 4 | — | 88 | 163 | 75 | 92 | 93 | 4 | 9 | 14 |
| |||
| A Hero's Death |
| 2 | 26 | 9 | 8 | 28 | 14 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
|
| |
| Skinty Fia |
| 1 | 24 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
|
| |
| Romance |
| colspan="12" | ||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | AUS | NLD | SCO [64] | UK | US Heat | |||||||||
| Fontaines D.C. Live at Kilmainham Gaol |
| 7 | — | — | 10 | 42 | 20 | |||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| EP details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Vinyl [66] | |||
| Skinty Fia Sessions |
| 28 |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | BEL (FL) Tip | CAN Rock [68] | JPN Over. [69] | NZ Hot [70] | UK | UK Indie | US AAA [71] | US Alt [72] | US Rock Air [73] | |||||
| "Liberty Belle"[74] | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | rowspan="3" | ||
| "Hurricane Laughter / Winter in the Sun"[75] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Chequeless Reckless / Boys in the Better Land"[76] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Too Real"[77] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Dogrel | |||
| "Big"[78] | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Roy's Tune"[79] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Boys in the Better Land" (re-release)[80] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "A Hero's Death" | 2020 | 90 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | A Hero's Death | ||
| "I Don't Belong" | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Televised Mind"[81] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "A Lucid Dream"[82] | 84 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "A Hero's Death (Soulwax Remix)"[83] | 2021 | — | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | rowspan="3" | ||
| "Televised Mind (Dave Clarke Remix)"[84] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "A Lucid Dream (Live Version)"[85] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Jackie Down the Line" | 2022 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 40 | — | — | Skinty Fia | ||
| "I Love You"[86] | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Skinty Fia"[87] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Roman Holiday" | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 35 | — | — | ||||
| "Cello Song"[88] | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Endless Coloured Ways: The Songs of Nick Drake | ||
| "Starburster"[89] | 2024 | 24 | — | 25 | — | 40 | 59 | 12 | 18 | 22 | 23 | Romance | ||
| "Favourite"[90] | 52 | — | — | 17 | — | 95 | 29 | — | — | — | ||||
| "Here's the Thing"[91] | 74 [92] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "In the Modern World"[93] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | |||
| "In ár gCroíthe go deo" | 2022 | 80 | Skinty Fia |
| "How Cold Love Is" | — | ||
| Year | Organisation | Award | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | DIY | Class of 2019 | Fontaines D.C. | |
| 2019 | AIM Independent Music Awards | Best Independent Track | Boys In The Better Land | rowspan="4" [94] [95] [96] |
| Best Independent Album | Dogrel | |||
| Hyundai | Mercury Prize | |||
| Q Awards | Breakthrough Act | Fontaines D.C. | ||
| Rough Trade | Albums of the Year | Dogrel | rowspan="2" [97] [98] | |
| BBC Radio 6 Music | ||||
| Choice Music Prize | Best Album | [99] | ||
| NME | The 50 Best Songs of 2019 | Big | [100] | |
| 2020 | AIM Independent Music Awards | UK Independent Breakthrough | Fontaines D. C. | rowspan="2" [101] |
| PPL Award for Most Played New Independent Artist | ||||
| Choice Music Prize | Best Album | A Hero's Death | [102] | |
| 2021 | Grammy Awards | Best Rock Album | rowspan="2" [103] | |
| Libera Awards | Best Live Act | Fontaines D.C. | ||
| Best Rock Record | A Hero's Death | |||
| AIM Independent Music Awards | Best Second Album | [104] | ||
| International Breakthrough | Fontaines D.C. | |||
| Brit Awards | International Group | |||
| 2022 | NME Awards | Best Band in the World | ||
| AIM Independent Music Awards | Best Creative Campaign | Skinty Fia | [105] | |
| Choice Music Prize | Best Album | [106] | ||
| 2023 | Brit Awards | International Group | Fontaines D.C. | |
| Ivor Novello Awards | Best Album | Skinty Fia | [107] | |
| Libera Awards | Best Rock Record | [108] | ||
| Marketing Genius | [109] | |||
| Video of the Year | "Jackie Down the Line" | |||