Just five years ago, the Dublin post-punk band Fontaines D.C. burst onto the scene with their debut album, Dogrel. It was clear from the quintet’s first session in WFUV’s Studio A in April 2019 that they were a band to watch.
Fast forward to April of this year, when the band announced a massive tour to go along with a new record deal with XL and a brand-new song called “Starburster.” The band’s rise in such a short time has been incredible to witness, and the latest single—from the forthcoming album Romance—takes the group to an entirely new plane. Singer Grian Chatten took inspiration from a real-life panic attack and included gasps in the song’s chorus, creating a most unexpected hook for the track. Chatten displays a confident swagger, and his phrasing is nothing short of hypnotic as he weaves his way through the song like a frontman 20 years his senior.
It’s an exhilarating direction for a band poised to make good on the promise to become the “next big thing.”
WFUV Discovery is a new music recommendation from Russ Borris, music director at WFUV (90.7 FM, wfuv.org), Fordham’s public media station.
