For their third album, Fontaines D.C. step outside of their post-punk box with their most adventurous sound yet. Opening with the haunting harmonies of ‘In ár gCroíthe’ - an Irish-Gaelic phrase meaning “in our hearts forever”, which the Church of England refused to put on an Irish woman’s gravestone two years ago after deeming it a political slogan - the experimentation and immersion into the band’s Irish heritage that this album offers is immediate. The band’s jagged guitar riffs and chanted vocals have become a lot more melodic. Some may call it ‘going soft’, but I call it a new use of their musical power in a more subtle, nuanced way. LT

Partisan Records