Each day of December this year, I’m highlighting one of my favourite albums of 2024. Counting down the list, we start with #31 on December 1st and go all the way down until we’ve reached #1 on December 31st. Today, #6 on my Album of the Year list: Fontaines D.C. – ‘Romance’.

April 17th, 2024. Fontaines D.C. release ‘Starburster’, the lead single off of their forthcoming studio album ‘Romance’. A song about Grian Chatten experiencing a panic attack at London’s St. Pancras station. That same April 17th, yours truly listened to ‘Starburster’ in the British Library, about 350 yards away from the iconic train station. Coincidence? Well, yes, obviously. Written in the stars? No, probably not. However, one thing became very clear to me: no matter what it was going to sound like, that day, ‘Romance’ became destined to end up high in my Album of the Year list.

Over the last few years, many things Fontaines D.C. touched turned to gold. Albums ‘Dogrel’ and ‘Skinty Fia’ became absolute classics in my collection featuring some of my favourite songs of all-time, whereas Grian Chatten’s solo-release ‘Chaos For The Fly’ was my #2 album of 2023. ‘Romance’ should become yet another iconic addition to this decade’s best works, though be it with a slightly different sound than we’re used to. A new sound that features optimism rather than anger. A sound more relaxed perhaps, as if the entire band just had a good massage. It fits Fontaines D.C. like a glove, which is something the critics noticed, too. ‘Romance’ got great reviews from several renowned media outlets, many praising the band for taking this route. A route leading away from straightforward punk-songs such as ‘Too Real’ and ‘Boys in the Better Land’, and releasing more melancholic songs with a sense of implemented hope, instead. A clear sign their songwriting evolved once more.

Fontaines D.C. have written some of the best songs of the last 5 years. ‘Big’ (‘Dogrel’, 2019): what a way to kick-off your debut. ‘A Hero’s Death’ (‘A Hero’s Death’, 2020): atrociously underrated tune. Or what about ‘I Love You’ (‘Skinty Fia’, 2022): in my opinion the greatest post-punk song ever written. And now, ‘Starburster’ (‘Romance’, 2024): probably the best song and definitely the best music video of this year. Fontaines D.C. is a state of the art band, being able to make an impact on generations ranging between the ages of 15 and 55, and probably outsides those age groups, too. ‘Romance’ once again proves that there’s probably no one out there being able to execute music while constantly developing themselves as well as these lot do. The legacy of this band will be carried forward many, many years into the future. This won’t be their end, but it might just be the start of their legendary status.