Fontaines D.C. - "Skinty Fia" (2022)

Fontaines D.C. have come back quickly with their third album, and following the singles released beforehand I have been very exited for it. The band has delved further into the gothic rock sounds of A Hero's Death, creating a record even darker and gloomier than that one. The tone and atmosphere is also more grimier and grittier than the last album's dejectedness, there's a bit more angst and bite showing through. This is exemplified by the lead single, Jackie Down The Line. The song sounds like a gnarled, bastardised version of Bigmouth Strikes Again with its jangly riff and lyrics characterising the self-sabotaging and self-doubting side of ourselves that we all have as this omnipresent and sinister character of Jackie.

This sinister underbelly is carried through the next couple of singles, I Love You and the title track. I Love You initially calls back to The Cure's Lovesong in both its memorable guitar line and lyrics about complete devotion to someone (or something). While initially appearing as a more standard love song, the track is about the band's love for their home country, Ireland, despite acknowledging all of its faults. These themes rear their head in the second half where the track flips on its head and frontman Grian Chatten doesn't shy away from any topic, from the country's economic struggles, to high male suicide rate, to the influence and atrocities of the Catholic Church. It is such an effective communication of the duality of national pride and national shame. Skinty Fia also has strong connection to Irish heritage. The name translates to 'The damnation of the deer' in English, and is an old Irish saying referencing the prehistoric Irish elk, who's extinction is traditionally attributed to it's oversized antlers becoming a hindrance rather than benefit - once again fitting in with the themes of misplaced national pride, and the preference of cultural tradition over social progress. The track is accompanied by this semi-industrial, trip hoppy beat that is a real change of pace for the band (who thus far have very much operated within the standard post-punk guitar, bass and drums wheelhouse) and is actually a really good fit for them.

The record opens on a similar note, with the tense and brooding In ár gCroíthe go deo. The title is a Gaelic saying which translates to "in our hearts forever". The phrase was requested by an old Irish lady in England to be on her gravestone, but the church of England refused unless there was an English translation also inscribed. This mix of grief and anger is really effectively conveyed by the meaty and rumbling rhythm guitar and pulsating electronics. It really personifies the feeling of complete injustice and prejudice her family must've been feeling. This rumbling anger is turned into a complete rage for the closer, Nabokov. The track follows the feelings of bitterness and self-deprecation someone can feel when devoted to someone, with the guitars are distorted and roaring and Chatten basically shouting to reflect this.

While a really like everything I have mentioned so far, the record does fall back in a couple of places. Big Shot and How Cold Love Is are pretty run of the mill post-punk that don't really do much unique; although I do enjoy the Interpol-esque interplay between the chiming lead guitar and Chatten's vocals on the latter. It just doesn't quite have the hook to get it over the line and make it something special. Bloomsday and Roman Holiday on the other hand are two really good songs that are a bit marred by their production. Both songs are layered up with loads of layer of reverb and just end up feeling kind of smudgy. This is really disappointing in the case of Roman Holiday because the song at the core of it is perhaps one of the best the band has ever written, and I find myself singing it to myself; but whenever I actually listen to it I can't help but think it would sound much better if it wasn't quite so washed out. The Couple Across The Way is a stripped back ballad featuring only Grian Chatten and an accordion. It's a decent song, although doesn't really get me like the ballads from A Hero's Death (Sunny and No). It also feels kind of jarring in its placement in the record, being straight between the much more heavily produced Roman Holiday and Skinty Fia.

The best of Skinty Fia is the best material Fontaines D.C. have produced so far, and the lyrical content is certainly the meatiest of the three records. However, the slight inconsistencies mean that it hasn't quite reached the level of A Hero's Death in terms of enjoyment over the entire runtime. It's still a really good record though and I'm excited for where the band are going with the more heady and cerebral themes.

Top Tracks: In ár gCroíthe go deo, Jackie Down The Line, Skinty Fia, I Love You, Nabokov,

7/10

Wet Leg - "Wet Leg" (2022)

With the return of all things 2000s over the past couple of years, including pop punk and nu-disco dance pop, it's no surprise that Wet Leg have been hyped up as the harbingers of the return of 2000's indie rock. Breaking through with the internet hit Chaise Longue last year, a cheeky and irreverent post-punk tune with a sense of fun that the genre has seriously been lacking for the past half a decade. (As great as bands like IDLES and Fontaines D.C are, they're hardly what you'd call fun). This attitude has been carried out through the rest of the singles the band dropped and now their debut record as well.

The record also smartly avoids the trappings that sank the genre back in the late noughties, being a collection of tightly written songs that don't outstay their welcome - as opposed to the repetitive 'laddish' anthems desperate for teenage guys with dark fruits to overplay at festival campsites. The songs are produced much more in the less-is-more approach of the trailblazers of the genre like The Strokes, rather than the overly compressed, everything and the kitchen sink mess that so much 2000s rock became. Rhian Teesdale's vocals also set her apart from many of the acts the band are calling back to, dynamically shifting from a nonchalant drawl akin to Julian Casablancas to a Kate Bush-esque yelp, to spoken word, to riot grrl sarcasm and aggression. 

The opener Being In Love exemplifies this clever simplicity well, being a song about all the cliché negative feelings associated with romance - e.g. feeling sick and lethargic. But instead of comparing love to these things, the theme is inverted and Rhian lists these feelings and concludes to them feeling like being in love. Combined with the swirling, detuned guitar lines; it makes the track a whole lot of fun. The irreverence of Chaise Longue is carried through the other singles with Angelica being about shit parties in your mid-20s where no-one knows whether to go wild like they used to or to act like sophisticated adults and bring some lasagne. The track has this thick and noisy post chorus instrumentation that is surprisingly heavy. Wet Dream sees Teesdale imagine what a certain guy's fantasies may be, with ridiculous scenarios described over a catchy dance-punk groove. Ur Mum, much like Chaise Longue, is a simple post-punk tune with some glorious lyrics tearing into an ex-lover who just lazes around smoking weed all day. "I feel sorry for your mum" is as about as blunt as it can get. The song closes out with Rhian proclaiming to give her longest and loudest scream, before going ahead and showing us. All of these songs are just so fun and catchy.

The slower tracks also hold up pretty well too, leaning into the more neo-psych territory. I Don't Wanna Go Out ebbs and flows through its lose and swirling structure. The track is about growing out of party culture and feels like the hazy hangover that becomes more frequent as you get older. Loving You and Piece Of Shit are cathartically bitter ballads about shitty guys, matched to lethargic and hazy guitars. The closer Too Late Now is also a bit more of a slow builder, despite in actuality being about the same length as all the other songs. The song is about the uncertainty and pressures of young adult life, and how sometimes you only need simple pleasures despite what is told to us. The track builds in pace from a sluggish first verse, into a tense spoken word middle section, before exploding for the remainder of the tune.

There are a couple of moments where the record feels a little derivative, primarily the repetitive 2 chord garage rock riff of Oh No (despite some great lyrics and vocal moments from Teesdale) and the underwritten Supermarket. Supermarket really feels like filler to be honest, it's repetitive and not all that catchy or unique - especially compared to some of the earworm singles earlier on in the record.

Wet Leg is just a fun, well written indie rock album. What it does might not be the most revolutionary thing, but it does it well. I just can't imagine anyone listening to a track like Angelica or Ur Mum and not having a smile on their face. I know it'll be in my rotation for the whole summer at the very least.

Top Tracks: Being In Love, Chaise Longue, Angelica, I Don't Wanna Go Out, Wet Dream, Loving You, Ur Mum, Piece Of Shit, Too Late Now

8/10