Fontaines D.C.
Skinty Fia

Skinty Fia by Fontaines D.C. is one of the finest albums of 2022, I say it right away to get it off my chest, no second thoughts. Artistic works are always subjective, but in my opinion, if many subjectivities give it a positive opinion, then we can say that it becomes quite objective. Ok, this might be a silly reasoning for someone, but I feel like making it in this specific case because it is actually so for me as well.

The Fontaines D.C. come from Ireland, and this is something to keep in mind while listening to the album because it is strongly tied to its territory, influenced by Irish events. Through the lyrics, social and political themes are addressed, and indeed the various references may be difficult for those who, like me, are not from that place. After all, it is a distant place even while being in Europe, a nearly magical place to see from here. I think the sensation of Fontaines D.C.'s music reflects well the climate of the place, which I imagine to be much rainier than here. There are plenty of references to the rain, but I also speak of that sense of heaviness that the dark clouds manage to convey.

The territory is immediately marked by the opening track "in ár gCroíthe go deo," an Irish phrase meaning "in our hearts forever" and which the family members wanted to engrave on the tombstone of a loved one. The fact is that the woman had lived and was buried in England, and the English church had decided that the phrase might risk being taken as a political slogan and thus did not allow it. The song itself gives the sensation of being in a funeral procession, like a post-punk chant.

But in Ireland, it's also cold, like love in the third track, as well as Grian Chatten's baritone voice that accompanies the whole record but also transmits a certain underlying security. The bulk of the sound is represented by raw, sparse guitar riffs that only give the feeling of being dirty but are always pleasant and suitable for the dark mechanics of the record. Such as in "Jackie Down The Line" and "Roman Holiday," two tracks that I associate with each other and that constitute a bit of a musical synthesis, or "Bloomsday," with a riff and a melody that extends for all of its 4 minutes but is well played in dynamics, one of the most peculiar and compelling pieces. But in terms of peculiarities, I cannot fail to mention "The Couple Across The Way," which deals with couple stories peeped at from a window, a piece entirely out of tune carried forward solely by an accordion. It's no coincidence this was to be included in a hypothetical second album of traditional Irish music but never realized.

The phrase "But this island's run by sharks with children's bones stuck in their jaws" within a track titled "I Love You" always strikes me, a song that, masked by such an apparently banal phrase, perhaps hides the most political text with references to genocides and corrupt politicians seen from a generational and national perspective.

For the closing, I thus refer back to the phrase with which I began (even though self-citation is semi-criminal, isn't it?!) "Skinty Fia by Fontaines D.C. is one of the finest albums of 2022," and writing while I listen to it again, I can only confirm it.