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Fontaines DC: Romance review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week
On their most approachable album the Irish rockers add pop melodies, nu-metal touches and lush orchestration – while their troubled view of the world remains
Their wilfully anonymous, dressed-down image has been traded in for dyed hair, kaleidoscopic clothes and sunglasses; bassist Conor Deegan and guitarist Carlos O’Connell could now pass for ancillary members of the Prodigy in their Firestarter pomp. Their sound has expanded to encompass string-laden ballads (the James Joyce-inspired Horseness Is the Whatness and In the Modern World), the title track’s synthy, Faith-era Cure gloom and, on the entirely charming closer Favourite, pre-Madchester John Peel indie. The band’s teenage love of nu-metal has also been stirred into the mix, although the latter is an influence worn pretty lightly: if they hadn’t mentioned Korn and Deftones in interviews, you would assume the vocal delivery of Starburster’s verses was derived directly from hip-hop.
Or read this on The Guardian