Less than a week after teasing some new music, Fontaines D.C. have officially announced their fourth album. The Irish post-punk band has signed to XL Recordings for the release of Romance, the follow-up to 2022's Skinty Fia, in August.
Fontaines D.C., who formed in Dublin but are now based in London, wrote the album last autumn after wrapping up a US tour with Arctic Monkeys, spent three weeks doing preproduction in a North London studio, and then recorded it in a Paris chateau with producer James Ford.
Alongside the announcement, the band has also shared the hip-hop-inflected lead single "Starburster," which was inspired by lead singer Grian Chatten having a panic attack in London's St. Pancras station.
Listen and watch the unnerving music video from Aube Perrie, who has previously worked with artists like Megan Thee Stallion and Harry Styles, below.
"We've always had this sense of idealism and romance," bassist Conor Deegan says of the album title. "Each album gets further away from observing that through the lens of Ireland, as directly as Dogrel. The second album is about that detachment, and the third is about Irishness dislocated in the diaspora. Now we look to where and what else there is to be romantic about."
Romance reportedly pulls elements from grunge, electronica, hip-hop, and shoegaze into Fontaines D.C.'s ever-evolving sound. And in addition to artists like Shygirl, Sega Bodega, Mos Def, A$AP Ferg, OutKast and the Prodigy, Chatten cites Katsuhiro Otomo's 1988 cyberpunk anime Akira as an influence.
"I'm fascinated by that — falling in love at the end of the world. The album is about protecting that tiny flame. The bigger armageddon looms, the more precious it becomes," Chatten explains in a statement. "We say things on this record we’ve wanted to say for a long time. I never feel like it's over, but it’s nice to feel lighter."
Guitarist Carlos O'Connell adds, "This record is about deciding what’s fantasy — the tangible world, or where you go in your mind. What represents reality more? That feels almost spiritual for us."
Romance is out August 23 via XL Recordings.
Tracklist:
1. Romance
2. Starburster
3. Here’s The Thing
4. Desire
5. In The Modern World
6. Bug
7. Motorcycle Boy
8. Sundowner
9. Horseness is the Whatness
10. Death Kink
11. Favourite
Romance is out August 23 via XL Recordings. You can pre-order it here.
Fontaines D.C. will support the release of Romance by embarking on a world tour this summer.
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Ever since breaking out with their Mercury Prize nominated debut-album Dogrel in 2019, Fontaines D.C.'s star has continued to rise. 2020's A Hero's Death was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards, and their most recent LP, 2022's Skinty Fia, reached No. 1 on both the Irish and UK album charts.
Fontaines D.C. will support the release of Romance by embarking on a world tour this summer. Although the full list of dates has yet to be announced, the tour will kick off with a European leg in June, followed by stopovers at Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds Festivals.
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