Skinty Fia (studio album) by Fontaines D.C.

When I first listened to this band, I found the vocals annoying and thought they were nothing special instrumentally. But on further listens this album has grown on me massively. A very moody and emotional album, but at the same time really fucking cool. The last two tracks, I Love You and Nabokov, are my favourites. The lyrics on I Love You are very deep although not being Irish I can't pretend to understand the meaning of them - "I'll love you till the grass around my gravestone is deceased" is lovely. Jackie Down The Line is great too, as is Roman Holiday which is a bit different to the rest of the album as it could pass as a cool stoner rock summer anthem. Absolutely love it, think this might be the most excited I've been about a new band this decade.

“Skinty Fia” benefits from the explicit irishness of the lyricism. It is explored from a variety of angles and gives the record a sense of identity. I particularly like the incorporation of regional slang to represent post-colonial relations on “Jackie Down The Line”. The vocals are a bit droning. They felt like they were attempting the feeling of disassociating but landing in flat instead. The instrumentals are competent if unexciting post-punk. They are never bad, but never great either. Overall, an interesting concept if stale in delivery.

Lo que pudo haber sido un gran album, termina siendo opacado por la insípida voz de Grian Chatten, parece como si lo obligaran a cantar, cantando todas las canciones de la misma forma, lo que se siente como si estuvieras escuchando la misma canción.
Instrumentalmente, su sonido post-punk con un tono oscuro es interesante y realmente muy bueno.

English review:
What could have been a great album ends up being overshadowed by Grian Chatten's flat voice, it seems like he's being forced to sing, singing all the songs the same way, which feels like you are listening to the same song.
Instrumentally, their post-punk sound with a dark undertone is interesting and very good indeed.

For me, this is the best 2022 album. So catchy and emotional.
Highlights: Roman Holiday, Jack Down the Line, I Love You.

This is their best record so far, less derivative than their first two albums. In ár gCroíthe go deo, Bloomsday, and all the side B of the album are very very remarkable.

From Brad1770 09/11/2022 04:24

Every year guaranteed there’s at least one or two highly anticipated albums that disappoint & unfortuately ‘Skinty Fia’ is one of those

Up until now I’ve been a pretty big supporter of these guys with both ‘Dogrel’ and ‘Hero’s Death’ landing high on my year end list. I first became concerned about ‘Skinty Fia’ when the stodgy “Big Shot” preceded its release as the first single & those fears were fully realised when I finally got my hands on the full album. Where’s the “Boys In the Better Land”? Where’s the “Dublin City Sky”? Where’s the “Televised Mind”? MIA that’s where. “How Cold Love Is” and the title track are solid enough but the rest is simply all a bit underwhelming

So, on this occasion I’m giving their third album a thumbs down because at the end of the day there’s simply too much other great music coming out I’d rather spend my time with

Fontaines are back at it again with another great album that expands on their sound and musical journey as a band.

From thirstyDog 05/20/2022 00:21

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From Arthurknight 05/20/2022 00:13

Fontaines DC's Dogrel was one of the best albums of the last decade, a radical statement and profoundly new. A Hero's Death was flat, boring, and a derivative foray into a foggy memory of post-punk. Skinty Fia is somewhere in the middle. In ár gCroíthe ge deo is a sinister and brooding introduction, while centring irish language and agency (the song responds to Church of England's discriminatory treatment of an Irish woman's epitaph in Coventry), and then Big Shot is utter crap. That's kind of the rhythm of Skinty Fia, you get a great song, and then tune out for a bit, and then roped back in, etc. etc. Hard to really score this one.

From Jboy56 05/13/2022 13:28

OK