Fontaines D.C. – New Album ‘A Hero’s Death’ – Out Now

by the partae August 4, 2020

written by the partae August 4, 2020

Fontaines D.C. - New Album 'A Hero's Death' - Out Now

‘…Fontaines D.C. have emerged frontrunners in an already crowded field of vital, important young bands. A Hero’s Death is a resounding victory.’
– Q Magazine (UK), 5/5 stars

‘In aiming to examine the self rather than please others, Fontaines D.C. have exerted a knack for writing anthems that are at once self-excoriating and intimately relatable.’ – NME, 4/5 stars

‘If Dogrel showed that they can be big, then A Hero’s Death shows that they can be whatever the hell they want.’ – Stereogum, Album Of The Week

‘A Hero’s Death just confirms what we’ve known all along: Fontaines D.C. intend to become one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and they don’t mind doing it the hard way.’ – The Line of Best Fit, 8.5/10

‘Subversive, non-conformist and melodious, this record has the credentials of a classic rock and roll album. The decision to take a radical approach only works for the few, the possession of ammunition that’s needed to master such a challenge is not for anyone. Fontaines D.C. have it, and it seems as though they are only just scratching the surface of what’s to come…’ – Clash, 9/10

Today Fontaines D.C. release their highly anticipated second album, A Hero’s Death – out everywhere now via Partisan Records / Liberator Music. Arriving battered and bruised – albeit beautiful – the album is anything but a re-hash of the swaggering energy from their first record Dogrel. Instead, the music is patient, confident, and complex – a heady and philosophical take on the modern world and its great uncertainty.

The album is available across a range of formats, including a limited edition deluxe double vinyl, limited edition stormy blue vinyl, black vinyl, CD & all digital services.

A Hero’s Death includes the recently-shared album highlights: the live favourite, ‘Televised Mind’, the lonely intensity of ‘I Don’t Belong’ and the hypnotic title track, which features a music video starring Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones, The Wire, Peaky Blinders).

To record A Hero’s Death, Fontaines D.C. rejoined producer Dan Carey (Black Midi, Bat For Lashes) in his London studio. Together they carved out a more restrained, spectral balladry that runs through a good portion of A Hero’s Death, citing influences from Suicide, The Beach Boys, and Leonard Cohen to others including Beach House, Broadcast, and Lee Hazlewood. With album art featuring a statue of the mythological Irish warrior Cúchulainn that stands in Dublin as a commemoration of the Easter Rising, there are layers to the phrase “A hero’s death.” The album serves as a conscious effort to subvert expectations, to challenge themselves and their listeners, and to sacrifice one identity in order to take on another – one that is fully their own.

The band’s debut album Dogrel debuted Top 10 on the UK album charts, earning Fontaines D.C. a Mercury Prize nomination, #1 Album of the Year positions from BBC 6 Music and Rough Trade, a performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and numerous sold out tours in the UK and abroad – including triumphantly selling out London Brixton Academy in just 1 week. The Guardian (who gave the album 5 stars) praised Dogrel as being “brilliant, top to bottom,” The FADER called Fontaines D.C. “One of the most exciting new bands around,” and NME (who also gave Dogrel 5 stars) called them “One of guitar music’s most essential new voices.”

A Hero’s Death is out everywhere now and is this week’s Double J Feature Album.

A Hero’s Death
Fontaines D.C.
Album out now through Partisan Records/Liberator Music
Available to buy/stream here

A Hero’s Death tracklisting:
1. I Don’t Belong
2. Love Is The Main Thing
3. Televised Mind
4. A Lucid Dream
5. You Said
6. Oh Such A Spring
7. A Hero’s Death
8. Living In America
9. I Was Not Born
10. Sunny
11. No