Skinty Fia: A look back on Fontaines D.C.’s big break - Irish identity and moody reflection

In 2025, Fontaines D.C. is a band known to anyone remotely interested in the music scene, writes Music News Blitz’s Charlie Gardner.

By 2020, they had broken through, releasing two albums each with songs that pushed the band into popularity.

Dogrel (2019) pushed the band into the public eye, before A Hero’s Death (2020) cemented their place, while still uniquely experimenting with their sound.

What the songs mean

Skinty Fia, released in 2022, was easily the next step in the band’s stratospheric growth.

The album is named after an Irish phrase referring to an extinct elk native to Ireland, something that serves as a poetic statement about how the artists feel about their culture and heritage being lost through time.

As far as songs go, the political sentiment doesn’t stop there.

The introductory track is named “In ár gCroíthe go deo”; the phrase translates to ‘in our hearts forever,’ and came to the Dublin consort’s attention after a Church of England court refused to display the message on an Irish woman’s gravestone due to a view that it was politically charged.

Songs throughout the album also include lyrics that acknowledge the irony of someone so proud of their heritage living in London.

"Roman Holiday," one of the best tracks on the album, acknowledges the irony of living in London expressively, all while still grappling with issues regarding history. 

Skinty Fia is moody. It’s dark and dingy, while still providing such an enjoyable listening experience.

Dogrel is decent, A Hero’s Death is full of energy, Skinty Fia is slower. It pulls you in with its immersive vocals and lingering bass, all while the lyrics provide a catchy, yet impactful level of ‘meaning’ to it all. 

“Big Shot” is aggressive and dark, setting the tone for an album full of angst, opening lyrics discussing a struggle with newfound success, reaching ‘the moon’ and feeling unsatisfied by what is there.

Sure, we’ve heard commentary on newfound popularity before from many artists, but the emotion in the vocals and dark, powerful vibe sets the album off well.

Then there’s “Jackie Down The Line,” a song which is comfortably the best on the album, which discusses themes of isolation and a lack of harmony amongst the two parties.

This is definitely one of the more edgy songs the group has produced, something reflected in popularity.

Then there’s the title track, which vocalist Grian Chatten says toys with the paranoia and senses of doom that come with drug and alcohol use, along with other external influences around the lifestyle of a musician.

These vibes of impending danger and crazed paranoia pass on to the listeners through the atmosphere that the band so effectively creates throughout the album, in a way that provides a cinematic listening experience.

Finally, there has to be time to give the flowers to the song that made it the furthest on the album.

“I Love You” is absolutely brilliant. It’s so easy to remember this album coming out, purely because of how popular this song was.

Opening with a brilliant bassline, the song soon crescendoes as other instruments become more prominent, before the vocals of lead singer Grian Chatten arrive, setting the song in motion.

Discussing themes of unrequited yet relentless love, both the song and Grian’s vocals increase in emotion as he wildly loses control.

The song was naturally interpreted as a love letter to Ireland despite all its shortcomings, something that was later confirmed by the band. 

While the previous track is a love letter, implying there are still levels of pride and happiness with their identity, “Nabokov” comes to tie things up in an explosive manner that seems to mellow out halfway through before exploding again.

This big finish has been described by the band as something that was a conscious decision to abandon all themes of hope, dragging the album back into a hellish and chaotic landscape that some may interpret to be a view on the state of modern Ireland.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Fans divided as Taylor Swift’s new album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ sparks mixed reactions online

So what is Skinty Fia?

Skinty Fia feels like a moment of rock revival in the modern scene.

While some may believe that political messages, no matter how subtle, are out of place in the modern world, it’s undeniable that some of the best rock music has messaging behind it.

From The Cranberries to The Cure, Bruce Springsteen and The Smiths, it feels as though Skinty Fia has its gravitas both sonically and contextually. 

Fontaines D.C. have since released another album, Favourite, in 2024, that has continued their immense rise while defining their sound more.

With a new album reaching higher peaks and high-selling tours, there’s absolutely no denying that these guys are more than just an edgy new underground band: they’re here to stay and create even more ripples in the industry going forward.

READ NEXT: Travis Scott brings Utopia to South Africa: A night of chaos, energy, and unforgettable sound