Starburster: Like an iron butterfly, Fontaines D.C. are indestructible and delicate

I challenge you, dear reader, to name a contemporary band capable of dolling out as much channelled, razor-sharp attitude as we hear on Fontaines DC’s new single, Starburster. Released 17th April ahead of their upcoming album, Romance, it is like an iron butterfly - at once indestructible and delicate; masterfully sitting on a knife edge of the avant-garde and the bold freeway of indie music. 

The track opens with that windy mellotron sound so synonymous with Strawberry Fields, before breaking into an overdriven drum groove and washed out vocal that could go unnoticed on Ian Brown’s My Way. Then comes the verse. What the vocal delivery lacks in melody it more than makes up for with unfettered intensity and unmatched lyricism - inspired, allegedly, by a panic attack Grian had on the tube. 

Perhaps the cherry on top of this barrage of post-punk panache, though, is the exquisitely tremoloed electric. It sounds like Bond swaggering through the scene of a car crash. 

Subverting predictable song structure by the end of its run-time, Starburster hits a clearing in the woods, offering a deft moment of serenity and cinema - overseen by lush strings and a cascading upright. 

With James Ford on production, this is a somewhat left-field direction for the otherwise choppy and authentic outfit from Dublin - but it totally lands. Fontaines are taking their spot at the vanguard of guitar music coming out of the UK. It’s fresh, it’s authentic, it’s artful. It’s everything guitar music was supposed to be. 

The only question remaining is, how far can Fontaines go? Can they brazenly spearhead a lasting post-punk revival? Or will they have to dilute their sound in order to truly break out internationally and get the ultimate festival slot on home soil? Their upcoming album, Romance, will give us an idea of their plan.