Fontaines D.C. - 'Big' — When The Horn Blows

Irish poets unleash yet another slice of chaotic modern rock n roll.

It's safe to say already that Fontaines DC is to 2019 what SHAME was to 2018 and IDLES was to 2017. Each year, a "punk" band comes along filling us youngsters with hope of a brighter musical future. However, it's ignorant to class any of those above bands as merely punk bands. IDLES bring the noise and the attitude of what punk rock is all about but they hit us with a message of self love and improvement rather than anarchy and revolution. SHAME have that similar attitude and taste for rebellion but have an unusual grasp of melody and structure for a group dismissed as being "punk". Fontaines DC are nothing like either of these bands. They replace an outgoing personality with effortless cool that can only be compared with the Strokes and swap anti-social blasts of noise rock with old school rock 'n' roll cliches. Previous single "Boys in the Better Land" draws its roots from Van Morrisons "Gloria" and they have at least two songs that are classic twelve bar rock'n;roll standards. They don't pretend to be a band that are pushing boundaries- despite their gang mentality, love of poetry and back to basics approach is incredibly fresh in todays market. The announcement of new album "Dogrel" (a light hearted style of Irish poetry that is widely considered derogatory to literary values) has provided an unbelievable amount of hyperbole that has been pushed onto both their previous tourmates. Latest single "Big" is another insight into why these boys' trajectory is skywards.

A departure from the million-mile-per-hour garage rock hurricane (lol) "Hurricane Laughter" and the experimental post-punk explosion "Too Real", "Big" is of the same ilk of "Rocket to Russia", "The Cuckoo is a-Calling" and "Boys in the Better Land"- classic rock'n'roll riffs delivered with the upmost of cool, an authentic respect to the past and a very modernist way of writing. "Dublin in the rain is mine/a pregnant city with a catholic mind" sets the scene immediately and the song is effectively a peaen to growing up in the shadow of the city and slowly learning to possess it. Frontman Grian Chatten mumbles his poetry like a young, clean and tidy Shane McGowan- coming across as both impeccably cool and weirdly vulnerable; the simplicity of the poetry is something that increases that accessibility and easily impresses as a piece of literary work as much as it does musically. "My childhood was small but I'm gonna be big" is one hell of a mission statement and as this track is the opener of "Dogrel" (thus acting as a lot of peoples introduction into Fontaines DC) it makes it even braver. But it's not misplaced confidence. These boys know how good they are, this is just one of nine recorded pieces of evidence that their mission statement is not just that; it's a prediction of the future. They're gonna be big.

Words by James Kitchen

TOUR DATES:
07 FEB 2019 / FR / Besancon / Generiq Festival
08 FEB 2019 / FR / Grenoble / La Bobine
09 FEB 2019 / FR / Lyon / Le Sonic
10 FEB 2019 / FR / Dijon / Génériq Festival
07 MAR 2019 / US / Brooklyn, NY / Union Pool SOLD OUT
08 MAR 2019 / US / Brooklyn, NY / Union Pool
11-16 MAR 2019 / US / Austin, TX / SXSW
11 APR 2019 / UK / Bristol / Thekla SOLD OUT
12 APR 2019 / UK / Leeds / Brudenell Social Club SOLD OUT
13 APR 2019 / UK / Manchester / Gorilla SOLD OUT
14 APR 2019 / UK / Glasgow / King Tuts SOLD OUT
16 APR 2019 / UK / Nottingham / Rescue Rooms SOLD OUT
17 APR 2019 / UK / London / The Garage SOLD OUT
18 APR 2019 / UK / Brighton / The Haunt SOLD OUT
19 APR 2019 / BE / Diksmuide / 4AD (Friday)
20 APR 2019 / NL / Rotterdam / Motel Mozaique Festival
22 APR 2019 / FR / Paris / Le Point Ephemere
24 APR 2019 / ES / Valencia / El Loco
25 APR 2019 / ES /Madrid / Siroco
26 APR 2019 / ES / San Sebastian / Dabadaba