Fontaines D.C. | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Fontaines D.C. performing in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | fontainesdc |
Fontaines D.C. are an Irishpost-punk band formed inDublin in 2014.[2][3][4] The band consists ofGrian Chatten (vocals), Conor Curley (guitar), Conor "Deego" Deegan III (bass), Tom Coll (drums) and Carlos O'Connell (guitar).
The band members met while attending BIMM Dublin music college and bonded over a common love of poetry. They began self-releasing singles and performing live regularly, signing toPartisan Records in 2018. The band's debut album,Dogrel, was released in 2019 to widespread critical acclaim; it was listed as Album of the Year on record storeRough Trade's website,[5] voted Album of the Year by presenters onBBC Radio 6 Music,[6] and nominated for theMercury Prize and theChoice Music Prize.[7]
The band's second studio album,A Hero's Death, written and recorded while touring to promoteDogrel was released in July 2020, and earned a nomination for Best Rock Album at the2021 Grammy Awards. Their third album,Skinty Fia, released in 2022, was the band's first to reach number one on theIrish Albums Chart andUK Albums Chart and contributed to them winning theBrit Award for International Group. The band's fourth album,Romance, was released in August 2024, and won The Album Award at the Rolling Stone UK Awards 2024.[8] and was also nominated for theMercury Prize.
Carlos O'Connell, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan, Grian Chatten and Tom Coll met while attending music college atBIMM inThe Liberties, Dublin.[3][9] They bonded over a common love of poetry[10] and released two collections of poetry calledVroom, inspired by theBeat poets (Jack Kerouac,Allen Ginsberg) andWinding, inspired by Irish poetsPatrick Kavanagh,James Joyce,W. B. Yeats. None of the published poems were translated into songs, but the track "Television Screens" on their debutDogrel began as a poem and was turned into a song.[11]
Lead singer Chatten is half-English (his mother is English and his father is Irish). He was born inBarrow-in-Furness, Cumbria,[3] but grew up in the coastal town ofSkerries, north of Dublin City.[12][13] Before starting Fontaines D.C., Chatten played in localindie rock bands Gun Runner and Thumbprint as drummer and guitarist/singer respectively.[14] Coll and Deegan are fromCastlebar in County Mayo, Curley is fromEmyvale in County Monaghan, and O'Connell grew up inMadrid, Spain.[9][15] Deegan is regularly seen wearingMayo GAA clothing during live performances.[16]
The band took their name from Johnny Fontane, a character in the movieThe Godfather portrayed byAl Martino, who was a singer and movie star and godson ofVito 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", to reflect the city of their formation.[17]
Fontaines D.C. started out self-releasing singles. In 2015, they were going to release their debut with music journalistJohn Robb's Louder Than War label.[12] 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.[17]
In 2018, Fontaines released the single "Chequeless Reckless"/"Boys In The Better Land" and "Too Real".[11]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'.[17] In May 2018, Fontaines played an in-studio gig atKEXP inSeattle.[18][19] In September 2018, Fontaines played on the Body & Soul stage atElectric Picnic, to positive reviews "Brilliant and Bracing".[20] In November 2018, the band signed withPartisan Records.[3] The band toured the UK and Ireland as support act for fellow post-punk bandShame.[21]
They released music videos directed by frequent collaborator Hugh Mulhern. The video for 2018's "Too Real" was inspired byThe Pogues's 1985 song, "A Pair of Brown Eyes" and the bandGilla Band.[11] 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.[22]
Fontaines received tour support fromIrish Arts Council which allowed them to tour internationally.[23][24][25] They also received grant funding fromRTÉ 2fm.[26]
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On 12 April 2019, the band released their debut albumDogrel on Partisan Records. The title was a homage toDoggerel, working class Irish poetry[27] – 'poetry of the people' – that dates back to 1630 and was popularised byWilliam McGonagall and laterOgden Nash.[17][28] The record was recorded live on tape.[29]
TheNME 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."[30]The Guardian gave the album a five-star review, hailing it as a "perfect debut", and commending Chatten for embracing the Dublin accent.[31]The Times said that "Shoutypost-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.""[32]
In 2019, the band toured 50 cities throughout Ireland, Europe, and North America. They have toured withShame andIdles.[19][33][11] FDC played main stage on the Friday night, ofAll Together Now 2019.[34] They played nine sets atSXSW 2019 over the course of five days, selling out venues, and countGilla Band as a major influence.[29][35] They were the musical guests onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on 1 May 2019, performing "Boys in the Better Land".
In January 2020, the band headlined theRockaway Beach Festival - notable as being one of the only live events to happen in the UK that year.[36] The band was also expecting to perform at theGlastonbury Festival in 2020,[37] which was to have been the festival's 50th anniversary, but the event had to be cancelled because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[38] On 14 July 2020, Fontaines D.C. performed a live set from Dublin'sKilmainham Gaol as part of the live television series,Other Voices.[39] A recording of the performance was released on vinyl as a limited edition release for Record Store Day on 12 June 2021[40] and later as a surprise digital release on 26 November 2021.[41]
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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 actorAidan 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.[42] 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 theUK Albums Chart afterTaylor Swift advanced the release date forFolklore when the midweek charts had Fontaines D.C. on top by over 10,000 copies. Swift's manoeuvre resulted inFolklore remaining at number one by 3,500 copies.[43]
The band returned toThe Tonight Show as musical guests on 28 January 2021, performing "A Hero's Death". The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2021Grammy Awards.[44]
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.[45] 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."[46]Skinty Fia debuted at number one on theUK Albums Chart and theIrish Albums Chart.[47] In the summer of 2022 the band played European music festivals, includingPrimavera Sound andGlastonbury.[48][49]
In June 2023, Chatten released a debut solo album,Chaos for the Fly.[50] In December 2023, the band announced a collaborative EP withMassive Attack andYoung Fathers titledCeasefire to raise money forDoctors Without Borders inGaza.[51]
On 17 April 2024, the band announced their fourth album,Romance, to be released onXL Recordings. The band released the single "Starburster" at the same time and made the album available for pre-order.[52] ForRomance, the band worked with producerJames Ford.[53]Romance was released on 23 August 2024. It debuted at No. 2 in the UK, where it doubled the first-week sales ofSkinty Fia, as well as in Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands, while reaching the top 10 in a total of 12 European countries. It was also the band's first album to chart in the United States, where it reached No. 97 on theBillboard 200. The singles "Starburster", "Favourite" and "In the Modern World" reached No. 57, No. 69 and No. 52 on theUK Singles Chart, respectively, the band's first.
The band's music was featured throughout the 2024 feature film,Bird, directed byAndrea Arnold. The music video for "Bug", starringBarry Keoghan, was composed of footage from the film, with the band stating, "Andrea Arnold was kind enough to cut up a sequence to our tune "Bug" featuring Barry Keoghan playing the character Bug in her latest movieBird. Big thanks to Andrea Arnold for letting us in so close to her visionary universe. She'll be remembered how we rememberBacon orGoya."[54] Multi-instrumentalist Carlos O'Connell made his acting debut in the film, with theInstitute of Contemporary Arts describing his performance as "playing a pivotal role in perhaps the film’s most memorable musical moment."[55]
The band received two nominations at the2025 Grammy Awards forBest Rock Album forRomance andBest Alternative Music Performance for "Starburster".[56] On 21 February 2025, the band released a stand-alone single, "It's Amazing to Be Young", which was recorded during the same sessions asRomance, but left off the album to keep it "concise".[57] It was included on the deluxe version ofRomance along with a second new track, "Before You I Just Forget", written by guitarist Conor Curley.[57]
Fontaines D.C.'s 7 June 2025 performance at thePrimavera Sound festival inBarcelona attracted media attention when the band displayed a Palestinian flag on the screen, as well as the phrases "freePalestine" and "Israel is committing genocide – use your voice", during their performance of the song "I Love You".[58][59]
"Starburster" was used as the theme music for Paramount TV seriesMobLand which premiered 30 March 2025 .
In September 2025, the band joined the "No Music For Genocide" boycott to geo-block their music from music streaming platforms in Israel in protest of theGaza genocide.[60]
Current touring musicians
Former members
Former touring musicians
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE [63] | AUS [64] | BEL (FL) [65] | BEL (WA) [66] | FRA [67] | GER [68] | NLD [69] | SCO [70] | UK [70] | US [71] | ||||
| Dogrel | 4 | — | 88 | 163 | 75 | 92 | 93 | 4 | 9 | —[A] |
| ||
| A Hero's Death |
| 2 | 26 | 9 | 8 | 28 | 14 | 12 | 1 | 2 | —[B] |
|
|
| Skinty Fia |
| 1 | 24 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | —[C] |
|
|
| Romance |
| 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 97 |
|
|
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE [63] | AUS Vinyl [75] | NLD Vinyl [76] | SCO [77] | UK [70] | UK Indie [70] | US Heat [72] | |||
| Fontaines D.C. Live at Kilmainham Gaol |
| 7 | 19 | 16 | 10 | 42 | 4 | 20 |
|
| Title | EP details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK Vinyl [79] | ||
| Skinty Fia Sessions |
| 28 |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE [63] | AUS Digi. [81] | BEL (FL) [65] | CAN Rock [82] | JPN Over. [83] | NLD Air. [84] | NZ Hot [85] | UK [70] | UK Indie [70] | US AAA [86] | |||||
| "Liberty Belle"[87] | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Hurricane Laughter / Winter in the Sun"[88] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Chequeless Reckless / Boys in the Better Land"[89] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Too Real"[90] | — | — | —[D] | — | — | — | — | —[E] | — | — | Dogrel | |||
| "Big"[92] | 2019 | — | — | —[F] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Roy's Tune"[93] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Boys in the Better Land"(re-release)[94] | —[G] | — | —[H] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| |||
| "A Hero's Death" | 2020 | 90 | — | —[I] | — | — | — | — | —[J] | — | — | A Hero's Death | ||
| "I Don't Belong" | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Televised Mind"[97] | —[K] | — | — | — | — | — | — | —[L] | — | — | ||||
| "A Lucid Dream"[100] | 84 | — | —[M] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "A Hero's Death (Soulwax Remix)"[101] | 2021 | — | — | —[N] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Televised Mind (Dave Clarke Remix)"[102] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "A Lucid Dream (Live Version)"[103] | —[O] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Jackie Down the Line" | 2022 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 40 |
| Skinty Fia | |
| "I Love You"[105] | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 44 | — |
| |||
| "Skinty Fia"[106] | —[P] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Roman Holiday" | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 35 |
| |||
| "Cello Song"[108] | 2023 | —[Q] | — | — | — | — | — | — | —[R] | — | — | The Endless Coloured Ways: The Songs of Nick Drake | ||
| "Starburster" | 2024 | 17 | 31 | — | 12 | 11 | — | 40 | 57 | 10 | 18 |
| Romance | |
| "Favourite" | 19 | — | — | 23 | 17 | — | — | 64 | 11 | 3 |
| |||
| "Here's the Thing"[111] | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | — | ||||
| "In the Modern World"[112] | 34 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 37 | 52 | 9 | — | ||||
| "Bug"[113] | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | 31 | 60 | 12 | — |
| |||
| "It's Amazing to Be Young"[57] | 2025 | 20 | — | 50 | — | — | — | 17 | 39 | 7 | 2 | Romance (Deluxe Edition) | ||
| "Before You I Just Forget"[114] | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | — | —[S] | 48 | — | ||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE [63] | NZ Hot [85] | UK Indie [70] | UK Rock [70] | ||||||||||
| "In ár gCroíthe go deo" | 2022 | 80 | — | — | — | Skinty Fia | |||||||
| "How Cold Love Is" | —[T] | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Romance" | 2024 | — | 33 | 29 | 24 | Romance | |||||||
| "Desire" | — | 34 | 35 | — | |||||||||
| "Motorcycle Boy" | — | — | 45 | — | |||||||||
| "Death Kink" | — | — | 47 | — | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIM Independent Music Awards | 2019 | Best Independent Track | Boys In The Better Land | Nominated | [117] |
| Best Independent Album | Dogrel | Nominated | |||
| 2020 | UK Independent Breakthrough | Fontaines D. C. | Nominated | [118] | |
| PPL Award for Most Played New Independent Artist | Nominated | ||||
| 2021 | Best Second Album | A Hero's Death | Won | [119] | |
| International Breakthrough | Fontaines D.C. | Nominated | |||
| 2022 | Best Creative Campaign | Skinty Fia | Nominated | [120] | |
| Brit Awards | 2021 | International Group | Fontaines D.C. | Nominated | [121] |
| 2023 | Won | [122] | |||
| 2025 | Won | [123] | |||
| Choice Music Prize | 2019 | Best Album | Dogrel | Nominated | [124] |
| 2020 | A Hero's Death | Nominated | [125] | ||
| 2022 | Skinty Fia | Nominated | [126] | ||
| Artist of the Year | Fontaines D.C. | Won | |||
| Best Song | "I Love You" | Nominated | |||
| 2024 | Best Album | Romance | Won | [127] | |
| Artist of the Year | Fontaines D.C. | Nominated | |||
| Best Song | "Starburster" | Nominated | |||
| DIY | 2019 | Class of 2019 | Fontaines D.C. | Included | [9] |
| Grammy Awards | 2021 | Best Rock Album | A Hero's Death | Nominated | [128] |
| 2025 | Romance | Nominated | [129] | ||
| Best Alternative Music Performance | "Starburster" | Nominated | |||
| Ivor Novello Awards | 2021 | Album Award | A Hero's Death | Nominated | [130] |
| 2023 | Skinty Fia | Nominated | [131] | ||
| 2025 | Best Song, Musically and Lyrically | "In the Modern World" | Nominated | [132] | |
| Libera Awards | 2020 | Best Live Act | Fontaines D.C. | Nominated | [133] |
| Best Breakthrough Artist/Release | Nominated | ||||
| Best Alternative Rock Album | Dogrel | Won | |||
| Video of the Year | "Big" | Nominated | |||
| 2021 | Best Live Act | Fontaines D.C. | Nominated | [134] | |
| Best Rock Record | A Hero's Death | Won | |||
| 2023 | Skinty Fia | Won | [135] | ||
| Marketing Genius | Nominated | ||||
| Video of the Year | "Jackie Down the Line" | Nominated | |||
| 2025 | Best Rock Record | Romance | Won | [136] | |
| Mercury Prize | 2019 | Best Album | Dogrel | Nominated | [137] |
| 2025 | Romance | Nominated | [138] | ||
| NME Awards | 2022 | Best Band in the World | Fontaines D.C. | Won | [139] |
| Rough Trade | 2019 | Albums of the Year | Dogrel | Won | [5][140] |
| Q Awards | 2019 | Breakthrough Act | Fontaines D.C. | Nominated | [141] |
| UK Music Video Awards | 2021 | Best Live Video | "A Hero's Death" (live fromJimmy Fallon) | Nominated | [142] |
| 2022 | "Jackie Down the Line" (live fromJimmy Fallon) | Nominated | [143] | ||
| 2024 | Best Rock Video – International | "Here's the Thing" | Nominated | [144] | |
| "Starburster" | Won | ||||
| Best Styling in a Video | Nominated | ||||
| "Here's the Thing" | Won | ||||
| Best Cinematography in a Video | Nominated | ||||
| 2025 | Best Rock Video – International | "It's Amazing to Be Young" | Nominated | [145] | |
| Best Rock / Alternative Video – Newcomer | "In the Modern World" | Won |
