As is annual tradition for us at this point, we’re dedicating our first Good Vibes review of 2025 to our favourite album of 2024. So, drumroll please... Penta’s favourite album of last year is...
‘ROMANCE’ by Fontaines DC!!
Now, if you’re a fan of contemporary rock music, it’s quite likely that the Dublin five-piece will have been on your radar for a while. They first burst onto the UK music scene with the release of their 2019 debut ‘Dogrel’, before following it up just one year later with ‘A Hero’s Death’, which cemented their place as one of the top post-punk bands around. After that is where things really start to get tasty though... ‘Skinty Fia’ in 2022 saw the band reach number one in several countries whilst developing their sound and building a platform for something truly special...
On ‘Big’, the opening track of ‘Dogrel’, frontman Grian Chatten stated “My childhood was small, but I'm gonna be big.” Well, 2024 was the year that premonition fully came to fruition as ‘Romance’ catapulted Fontaines DC onto a whole new level.
This album is a masterpiece in alternative rock. Lofty praise, sure, but let’s take a look... From the minute it starts with the Cure-esque opener “Romance”, through to the rousing, anthemic closer “Favourite”, this album rarely dips in quality. There’s the scuzzed-out grungy guitar work of “Here’s The Thing”, the charming balladry of “Horseness Is The Whatness” and the shoegaze-y dreamlike quality of “Sundowner”, Fontaines tip their hat to an impressive number of influences all whilst staying remarkably unique and true to themselves.
We’ve picked “Favourite” to go into our Penta Sounds playlist this month, but realistically it could have been almost any song on the album that made the cut. This album is that consistent, and that good.
Not only is it the evolution of their music that makes all this fascinating though, gone is the black and white, moody aesthetic of their previous years. In its place a vibrant, colourful, nu-metal inspired 90s look. It has to be noted that there is almost some kind of cross over with one of 2024’s other biggest and most impactful albums – ‘Brat’ by Charli XCX.
That’s not to say that this is in any way a ploy, whilst this is Fontaines DC’s most accessible and approachable album, it always feels like it is on their terms and never an attempt to be something that they’re not.
If you like rock music, there’s a good chance you’ll find something on this record that you’ll like. We like rock music, and we like this album. So, it gets the Penta seal of approval, and the recommendation that if you haven’t heard it already, you should check it out.
We’re going to leave you with a line from the opener we mentioned. It feels strangely appropriate for us, a hospitality brand that decided to review this album...
Maybe romance is a place...
Still credits: “Favourite - Fontaines D.C. (audio only) ” uploaded to YouTube by genghis khan
