How can three songs with completely different sounds work so well together? That’s the question I was left asking myself after listening to Fontaines D.C.’s third single from their upcoming album Romance. Following post-punk “Starburster” and jangle-pop “Favourite,” “Here’s The Thing” takes a grungy, 80s horror-film-esque turn. While horror is a recurring theme in the album – from body horror in the “Starburter” music video to The Shining references in the album’s teaser video – romance is the true underlying connection between the tracks.
“We’ve always had this sense of idealism and romance,” shared bassist Conor Deegan in a previous press release, “Each album gets further away from observing that through the lens of Ireland, as directly as Dogrel. The second album is about that detachment, and the third is about Irishness dislocated in the diaspora. Now we look to where and what else there is to be romantic about.” With the music video for “Here’s The Thing,” the band have found romance in teen girlhood. Directed by Luna Carmoon, the seven-minute music video is a cinematic, if unsettling, feat, watch it below.
Romance comes out in a few weeks on August 23, making the band’s first album with XL Recordings. Fontaines D.C. will continue to tour through the fall, closing their US run of shows here in Philly at The Fillmore, check out XPN’s Concert Calendar for more information.