Irish rock group Fontaines D.C. are preparing to release their third album Skinty Fia, which is out April 22 on Partisan Records. While frontman Grian Chatten described it as “the first overtly political song we've written,” their latest single "I Love You" is a tense, eerie ode that's perfect to rip your heart out to. Spoiler: that's what happens in the candle-lit video directed by Sam Taylor.
It's clear from the beginning of the song that "I Love You" is different from your typical romantic ode. Chatten straightforwardly and repeatedly proclaims love for a subject that seems far removed from humanity. The single becomes increasingly haunting as one starts to lose sense of the "you" Chatten is singing about, especially when it's revealed to be a love that surpasses death: "I wrote you this tune to be here loving you when I'm in the tomb," goes one line. The song takes the point of view of an Irishman abroad. His searing sense of national love sits next to the current hometown atrocities and historical horror.
Chatten added: “It's standing in the center of our beloved home country as a multitude of things are brought to tragic ends in an apocalyptic state of affairs. That's how it feels to me, and what I felt when I wrote it.”
Watch the video below, and find their upcoming North American tour dates as well.
