It's been a great year for Fontaines DC. They released one of the best records of 2024, Romancegarnering wide acclaim from critics and making itself known to a wider audience. It also received a pair of Grammy nominations, for Best Rock Album (Romancein fact) and for the best performance of alternative music (the single Starburst).
“We can't wait to go there, not so much to walk the red carpet and show off, but to have a good story to tell when we're old,” says frontman Grian Chatten on board a tour bus in Leeds, by the way. of the ceremony to be held in February. «We will take it with healthy lightness and with respect, which is the best thing» (they were unable to participate in the 2021 ceremony, when A Hero's Death was nominated for best rock album and «not being able to go was a disappointment, to say the least»).
You've been on tour for a while. How has it gone so far?
It was incredible. Going on tour hasn't seemed like a new experience to us for a while. I think it's due to the album and the public's response. I know it's boring to hear, but it's like we were reborn. Obviously I'm paying for it and in fact my immune system is down and I'm taking Lemsip. But I'm grateful for how the concerts are going. The environment heats up quite quickly.
Is there anything different in terms of energy compared to the past?
It's strange, because just Romance gained momentum, we started to notice audiences responding in a different way. At first it was a little scary, you know, when people went wild. I remember looking at the others on stage, thinking, “Holy Christ, shouldn't we beef up security?” But it was nice. The public, in many cities in the United Kingdom, is decidedly involved. He's having fun.
The Brooklyn audience, in May. Photo: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone US
There are pieces of Romance what changed after playing them live?
I don't want to sound pretentious, but the performance of any song involves a part of emotional learning and a more physical one, which is usually completed within a few shows. It's more about relaxing the body and mastering the piece. The first time we played Desire it was strange from a physical point of view, I didn't understand if it was a hard song or a ballad. It was somewhere in between. But now I think I know what it is and it's something new and interesting. Here's the Thing it's probably the highlight of our concerts right now. It's the point where we get closer to anarchy than ever before. If it were up to me, I would start the show with Here's the Thing and I'll see where it ends up.
Always do a certain number of songs from previous albums. Do you change the schedule from city to city following any particular criteria?
We feel, perhaps wrongly, that we know which songs might do well in certain places. Beyond this, we want to keep a good part of our first songs in the lineup, to keep our feet firmly on the ground and not forget where we come from. Playing the songs from the first album makes us understand how far we've come and how many more people today hear the songs we've been playing for years. It's also a way to show gratitude.
There has been a lot of talk, for better or for worse, about the change in sound made with Romance. How does it feel to attract more people?
It's a good feeling, if only for a question of self-esteem that increases proportionally with the growth of the audience. If I had the self-esteem I had five years ago, I would be in trouble today. Now I say to myself: come on, let's see what happens.
Photo: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone US
What exactly has changed?
I will answer pragmatically, like the coach of a football team would, because nothing remotely poetic comes to mind. My answer, instinctively, is that it has to do with the fact that we made four albums – five, if we count my solo album – and we're still fucking here. At the time of the first two albums, especially the second, there is a certain sense of precariousness, which is justified and probably even useful. You feel like it could all end at any moment and you tell yourself that you might as well do what you want, or at least for some reason this mechanism worked for us. Now I'm starting to feel more comfortable with the idea that people actually want us to do what we want. They don't want to see us compromise. I know some people think we've already compromised, but for me that's not the case. I feel like I'm doing the right thing in my life. Ok, I'll stop talking now.
But no, it's beautiful. Do you feel under pressure?
After Romance If I think about the next album I feel intimidated, but it's a positive thing. To be honest, one fundamental thing that has changed for me, even if it's very boring to talk about, is that I can no longer afford to get sick during tours. I would disappoint too many people. I try to take care of myself, out of respect for the fans. Well, from this point of view there is a lot of pressure. As for the writing, it's business as usual. It's as if the songs were born on their own on tour and in the end we find a ready album in our hands. We fix the pieces by changing something, we flesh them out, we bring them into focus and that becomes the record. We've never gone into the studio with an album yet to be written.
What difficulties do you face on tour?
The key thing is to have enough energy to take care of friends and family at home, answer the phone, be involved in their lives. And sometimes it's hard to find the strength to do it. It's easy to get caught up in your own problems when you're on tour. You're busy with your schedule and instead it's important to stay in touch with people.
Photo: Sacha Lecca for Rolling Stone US
Many publications are publishing the rankings of the best albums of 2024 and Fontaines are often there. Do you care about being there?
I like to fight. Finding ourselves at the top of those lists, winning prizes, etc., worries me a little, because it somehow discourages me from fighting. I wish people didn't perceive us as part of the establishment. Sometimes I get a little anxious about this. Anyway, I don't think about it that much, I try to do good concerts and stop. You usually notice this stuff when you least expect it. Who knows, maybe I'll go to my grandmother for Christmas dinner and little by little I'll start to feel the effect. I don't know.
Would you have ever expected such an answer when you were writing Romance?
Not exactly. But I got the word “romance” tattooed on my arm, before releasing or even recording the album. In hindsight I wonder if it wasn't a gamble. If it had gone badly, I would have walked around with a tattoo of the album that ended our career, but perhaps I did it subconsciously to convince myself that my opinion as an artist was the only one that mattered. It is important to try to maintain integrity.
It was a kind of premonition.
Exact. Or something I manifested, as they say on Instagram.
Do you already know what awaits you in the future?
Lots of concerts until the end of next year. Maybe we'll make another record around that time. I feel like the time is coming to disappear for a while. I don't want to saturate the radio or the feeds or anything. I don't want this band to be omnipresent. It would be good to consider it, but it won't happen for a while, at least for another record.
Why a break? For yourself or for others?
It's a good time creatively, so I don't want to stop right now. But I know there are other territories we could explore if we stopped touring for a while. I don't want to limit myself to one area for the rest of my life, I want to look up and see what else is around. And so on a creative level I know it would be a good idea to stop at some point. I don't want kids to grow up hearing us on their parents' car radios and decide that we're no longer a band for them.
Photo: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone US
With Romance you have broadened your horizons from a musical point of view. Where else do you plan to go in the future?
We always had the idea of making a folk album with traditional influences, but perhaps it would be more interesting to delve deeper into the sonic suggestions of the last two albums. I like to think about the albums in sequence and figure out what story they will tell when it's all over. We should think about it carefully instead of just churning out songs without looking at the big picture.
Do you often think about the legacy you want to leave?
I know I sound presumptuous admitting this, but yes, I do it more and more often, even though I'm still young. I'll be 30 next year, I know it's not that many. But you know what? It all comes from Blackstar by David Bowie. It set a precedent. He left an indelible mark from a creative point of view. I would like to give my contribution. I don't feel like kneeling at the altar of my ego or writing songs that I can dance to and act cool about. I want to say something. The more mature I become, and perhaps more sober, the more these things matter. Longevity has become important.
I understand you won't be stopping anytime soon.
No, I don't think so. Stopping would mean taking a step back. I think I've already told you: when I'm moving I feel like I'm not moving forward, but when I'm still I feel like I'm moving. I immediately become restless.
One last question that takes inspiration from a verse by Horseness Is the Whatness: What is the word that “makes the world go round” for you since the album came out?
Hope. I know it sounds cheesy, but the cynicism and pessimism have tired me. Being a rebel is for kids. I strive to have hope in myself and in doing so offer some of it to others.
From Rolling Stone US.
