Our reviewer spent his Sunday evening watching one of the hottest bands of the year, and they live up to the hype.

Fontaines DC have been on the periphery of enormity for a number of years now. Since their first album - a hard hitting pre covid masterpiece - the five piece from Dublin have expanded their sound and stretched themselves in terms of both sound and lyrical content.

Their fourth album, Romance, was released towards the end of the summer of 2024 and, matching how the group have developed and grown over the years, so has the hype surrounding them since the release of their newest LP.

Fontaines DC at Exhibition Park in Newcastle | Jason Button/National World

placeholder image — Fontaines DC at Exhibition Park in Newcastle | Jason Button/National World

Nearly 12 months after the release of Romance, the band’s first full summer touring the album has pushed them into a stratosphere no one who experienced their early shows could likely imagine.

A 10,000 sellout crowd in Newcastle followed a sellout show at London’s Finsbury Park with the group pushing 21 songs into a brilliantly crafted set, giving each track its own space to breathe in front of a raucous North East crowd.

Impressive support sets from Crows and Mercury Prize winning English Teacher, who are heading back to the region later this year on their own headline tour, set the metaphorical pins up for the Irish rockers to smash through them.

A supercharged start to the set consisting of Here’s The Thing, Jackie Down The Line and Boys In The Better Land showed the group’s willingness to switch between albums without sending their fans into a state of whiplash while minimal stage chat from frontman Grian Chatten only led to amplify what was said in the moments of rest.

Thanking the crowd for creating a core memory following Before You I Just Forget was a rare tender moment during the night from Chatten, who was clearly enjoying his time in front of the band’s largest North East crowd so far.

Chatten has developed massively as a frontman over the last two album cycles. His righteous anger, smashing his mic stand into the stage - a staple of his past shows - has been replaced with skipping along the floor, interacting with the crowd more than I can remember in previous years. It makes sense with the newest album pushing to feel more ‘in your face’ compared to the more retrospective or introverted albums of A Hero’s Death and Skinty Fia and their darker imagery and artwork.

Seeing a band really embrace the look of the art they release adds another dimension to the live shows, and it seems Fontaines DC are very aware of that.

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It is the sign of a band who seem to constantly be raising their own bar at the moment. Each release is met with almost universal praise across the music world and, with Romance growing the fanbase and general public appeal after the exceptional third album Skinty Fia, it is reassuring to see the group are leaning into their current wave and enjoying where it brings them.

Long may that success continue. The music world is in a better place with Fontaines DC continuing to push what they are capable of, especially if it results in performances like the weekend’s.

Fontaines DC Exhibition Park Newcastle setlist:

Here’s The Thing

Jackie Down The Line

Boys In The Better Land

Televised Mind

Roman Holiday

It’s Amazing To Be Young

Big Shot

Death Kink

A Hero’s Death

Before You I Just Forget

Motorcycle Boy