Fontaines D.C.

Dogrel and after

Fontaines D.C. met while studying at BIMM in the Liberties area of Dublin and bonded over poetry, self-publishing two collections, Vroom and Winding. Grian Chatten is the only Dublin native; the others come from elsewhere in Ireland, and Carlos O'Connell grew up in Spain. Stereogum reports they bonded over Kerouac, then Yeats, Lorca and Joyce's Dubliners. The name comes from Johnny Fontane in The Godfather, with D.C., for Dublin City, added after a Los Angeles band of the same name objected. In 2017 they released two singles, "Liberty Belle" / "Rocket to Russia" and "Hurricane Laughter" / "Winter in the Sun", both named Rough Trade single of the week, and on February 23, 2018 a double A-side, "Chequeless Reckless" / "Boys in the Better Land". They played their first KEXP session in Seattle in May 2018 and KEXP's Iceland Airwaves on November 8, 2018, and signed to Partisan that month.

Dogrel (April 12, 2019) was produced and mixed by Dan Carey, who told Loud and Quiet that the band recorded together at his studio in Streatham, south London, four songs to tape at a time, so a mistake meant wiping the tape and starting that chunk again; the vocals were not recorded live. It reached 9 in the UK, went Gold and has a Metacritic score of 86; the Guardian's Ben Beaumont-Thomas gave 5 stars. Seven of the eleven tracks had been 2018 singles, re-recorded faster and rawer. They made their US TV debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on May 1, 2019 and Dogrel was nominated for the Mercury Prize at the ceremony on September 19, 2019. A Hero's Death (July 31, 2020) reached 2, and Skinty Fia (April 22, 2022) went to number 1 in the UK, Ireland and Scotland.

Romance (August 23, 2024, XL), produced by James Ford and recorded in November 2023 at La Frette in France and The Church in London, reached 2 in the UK and 97 in the US and has a Metacritic score of 89. The band won the Brit Award for international group in 2023 and 2025, and received Grammy nominations for best rock album in 2021 and 2025 and Mercury nominations in 2019 and 2025. Chatten released the solo album Chaos for the Fly in June 2023. Setlist.fm lists over 700 setlists.