In 2020, Fontaines D.C. broke through to American acclaim with their sophomore album A Hero’s Death. Today they’ve announced the anticipated follow-up titled Skinty Fia—named after an Irish phrase that translates to “the damnation of the deer”—which found them working again with producer Dan Carey. In addition to the announcement, the group dropped the lead single “Jackie Down the Line” and a rather intense video directed by Hugh Mulhern.
The song’s charm centers around a forward, humdrum bass and rattling drums. “My friend Sally says she knows ya /Got a funny point of you / Says you got away with murder / Maybe one time maybe two,” goes the ominous opening verse. Grian Chatten’s voice booms with a subtle echo: “What good is happiness to me if I’ve to wield it carefully?” he asks later on.
Maybe it’s the video’s subdued warm colors or the grungy folktale vibe that has me feeling we’ve time-travelled back three decades. Whatever it is, the new single finds an intriguing middle ground between haunting poetics and a spooky narrative.
Watch the video below, and pre-order Skinty Fia here.
