Fontaines DC have become part of rock’s rich tapestry, living proof that rock’s canvass is far from complete. Countless band set out to bring something new to the party. Most fail. Fontaines deliver in spades. Better again, they do so with an intelligence that permeates the lyrics and music.
The group kicked up a sonic storm at the first of their two gigs at Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens on Saturday night. The hurricane was sustained by waves of intricate cross patterns delivered by the band’s guitar players, Conor Curley and Carlos O’Connell. The sensation was intensified by a series of teasing, delicate otherworldly sounds that made fleeting appearances. Grian Chatten’s mesmerising mantras locked to the propulsive explosion of Tom Coll’s drumming; and Conor Deegan’s hypnotic bass completed a wall of sound that dominated the venue. A lot of bands labour to achieve a sonic atmosphere such as this live; Fontaines DC do it at the flick of a switch.
The future of rock ‘n’ roll is in safe hands and they are Irish, poetic, elegant and loud.
