A Hero's Death
Studio album by
Fontaines D.C.
Released31 July 2020 (2020-07-31)
RecordedAugust 2019 – February 2020
Genre
Length46:33
Label
ProducerDan Carey
Fontaines D.C. chronology
Dogrel
(2019)		 A Hero's Death
(2020)		 Skinty Fia
(2022)
Singles from A Hero's Death
  1. "A Hero's Death"
    Released: 5 May 2020
  2. "I Don't Belong"
    Released: 9 June 2020
  3. "Televised Mind"
    Released: 30 June 2020
  4. "A Lucid Dream"
    Released: 15 September 2020

A Hero's Death is the second studio album by Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C. The album was released on 31 July 2020 through Partisan Records, less than 18 months after the release of their debut album Dogrel. The album received critical acclaim upon its release, signifying a partial departure from their bubbling and anxiety-inducing post-punk sound found on their first record to the incorporation of more dream-like and psychedelic aspects having taken inspiration from The Beach Boys, to name but one of many influences, during the writing of the record.

The album received a nomination for Best Rock Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards, while also garnering the band a nomination for the Brit Award for International Group at the 2021 Brit Awards and Album of the Year at the 2020 Choice Music Prize.[2] [3] [4]

After a well-publicized chart battle with American singer Taylor Swift, A Hero's Death debuted at number two in the United Kingdom behind her album Folklore because of a last-minute sales tactic on Swift's part.[5][6]

Background and recording

Following the release of Dogrel, Fontaines D.C. embarked on a spring 2019 tour with British punk rock band IDLES. This included a North American leg from March to May 2019. Following the North American leg of the tour, the band performed at several European summer music festivals including Glastonbury, Roskilde, Viva, StereoLeto, TRNSMT, Dour, Y Not, Haldern Pop, and Ypsigrock. Following the European summer festival circuit, the band went on a fall 2019 North American tour as the headlining act. The band finishing touring for Dogrel with a headlining tour across Europe, concluding in February 2020.

During the tour, the band wrote and recorded material for their second studio album. The album is produced by Dan Carey, who produced their debut album, Dogrel.[7] On 5 May 2020, the band released the single "A Hero's Death" with a corresponding music video.[8] With the release of the single, the band announced the release of the album for 31 July 2020.[9]

According to lead singer Grian Chatten, the album's name was inspired by a line in a play by Irish writer Brendan Behan. Chatten said the album title is "an effort to balance sincerity and insincerity, but more broadly it's about the battle between happiness and depression, and the trust issues that can form tied to both of those feelings".[9][8] The album cover features a statue of the Irish mythological demigod Cú Chulainn entitled "The Dying Cuchulain" by Oliver Sheppard.[10]

Music and lyrics

According to the band's press release of the new album, the sound ventures away from their post-punk sound. The band said that bands such as Suicide, The Beach Boys, Beach House, These Immortal Souls, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Broadcast were influential in the sound of the album.[7]

Singles

The first single from A Hero's Death was its title track, which was released on 5 May 2020 alongside the music video. The video was directed by Hugh Mulhern and produced by Aaron McEnaney and Theresa Adebiyi. The music video features a fictional late night show called The Georgie Barnes Show starring a jaded talk show host named Georgie Barnes, (played by Aidan Gillen) whose co-host is a puppet. The series features the talk show host greeting the band prior to them playing a song on the show, but becoming existential when the band seems to show more appreciation to the puppeteer (Bryan Quinn) and the puppet rather than the host.

The album's second single, "I Don't Belong", was released on 9 June 2020. It was followed by "Televised Mind" on 30 June 2020.[11] Conor Deegan III directed the video for "I Don't Belong," while Mulhern returned to direct the "Televised Mind" video.

Tour

The album was released during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, delaying any shows prior to and following the release of the album. Originally, the band had a tour in Australia scheduled for November and December 2020, which was postponed, and a tour from March to July 2021 across Europe which was also postponed.[12] Due to little improvement from the pandemic, the tour was delayed from October 2021 to March 2022.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.0/10[13]
Metacritic84/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Clash9/10[16]
DIY[17]
The Guardian[18]
The Independent[19]
The Irish Times[20]
The Line of Best Fit8.5/10[21]
NME[22]
Pitchfork8.1/10[1]
Q[23]
Rolling Stone[24]

At aggregating website Metacritic, A Hero's Death has received a normalised rating of 84, based on 23 critical reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[14]

Writing for Pitchfork, Elizabeth Nelson gave the album an 8.1 out of 10, describe A Hero's Death as "heady, funny, and fearless." Nelson summarised the album as "a maudlin and manic triumph, a horror movie shot as comedy, equal parts future-shocked and handcuffed to history."[1] Guardian writer, Ben Beaumont-Thomas, gave the album a perfect five stars out of five stating that Fontaines D.C. "deliver a difficult but powerful second album full of songwriting that stares life in the face."[18]

A few music critics offered a more mixed view of A Hero's Death. Liam Martin, writing for AllMusic, awarded the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, feeling that their sophomore effort was not up to par with their debut, Dogrel. Martin said "their debut benefited from strong singles and a cohesive locational element to give it strength. Here the singles are not as strong, and the sweaty vibe from the debut is gone, as if someone has switched on the air conditioning."[15] Martin did concede that "their second attempt only falls short of greatness in a relative sense, as there is still plenty to love about the album."[15]

Commercial performance

Early statistics indicated that A Hero's Death was projected to top the UK Albums Chart in its debut week, knocking off Taylor Swift's album Folklore to number three, which had debuted at number one the week prior.[5] However, after the publishing of the midweek chart, which stated that A Hero's Death had outsold Folklore by over 10,000 copies so far in the week, Swift's marketing team chose to release the physical CDs of Folklore three days before its original scheduled date.[25] "It was sort of like a weird sense of being flattered because the idea that a massive corporation is afraid of losing face to a group of lads from Dublin is hilarious to me," Chatten said about the chart battle.[6]

Ultimately, the last-minute sales tactic resulted in A Hero's Death debuting at number two behind Folklore, losing by 3,500 copies.[26] A year later, Chatten said that the band did not want the attention from the chart battle.[27]

The album also debuted at number two in Ireland and number one in Scotland.

Track listing

Track listing and times via Apple Music.[28]

A Hero's Death track listing
No.TitleLength
1."I Don't Belong"4:31
2."Love Is the Main Thing"3:53
3."Televised Mind"4:10
4."A Lucid Dream"3:53
5."You Said"4:36
6."Oh, Such a Spring"2:32
7."A Hero's Death"4:18
8."Living in America"4:56
9."I Was Not Born"3:50
10."Sunny"4:52
11."No"5:08
Total length:46:33
Japanese edition (bonus track)[29]
No.TitleLength
12."Liberty Belle" (Live)3:42
Total length:50:30

Personnel

Fontaines D.C.

  • Grian Chatten – lead vocals, tambourine
  • Carlos O'Connell – guitar, backing vocals
  • Conor Curley – guitar, piano, backing vocals
  • Tom Coll – drums, percussion, guitar
  • Conor Deegan – bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart performance for A Hero's Death
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[30] 26
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[31] 61
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[32] 9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[33] 8
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[34] 12
French Albums (SNEP)[35] 28
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[36] 14
Irish Albums (OCC)[37] 2
Italian Albums (FIMI)[38] 47
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[39] 37
Scottish Albums (OCC)[40] 1
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[41] 60
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[43] 2
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[44] 2
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[45] 44

References

  1. 1 2 3 Nelson, Elizabeth (31 July 2020). "Fontaines D.C.: A Hero's Death Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  2. ↑ "Fontaines D.C. nominated for Grammy Award". BIMM Institute. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  3. ↑ Cannon, Eoghan (31 March 2021). "Fontaines D.C. pick up BRIT Award nomination for Best International Group". Entertainment.ie. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  4. ↑ Murphy, Glen. "Choice Music Prize: Irish Album of the Year shortlist revealed". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  5. 1 2 Tabberer, Jamie (3 August 2020). "Taylor Swift's Folklore could be toppled off charts by Irish band Fontaines DC". Metro. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  6. 1 2 Deen, Sarah (6 August 2020). "Fontaines DC's Grian Chatten 'flattered' by sudden Taylor Swift chart battle". Metro. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  7. 1 2 Gallagher, Alex (6 May 2020). "Fontaines D.C. Announce New Album 'A Hero's Death', Share Title Track". Music Feeds. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  8. 1 2 Yoo, Noah (5 May 2020). "Fontaines D.C. Announce New Album A Hero's Death, Share Video for New Song: Watch". Pitchfork. Conde Nast. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  9. 1 2 Neale, Matthew (5 May 2020). "Fontaines D.C. announce new album 'A Hero's Death' and share first single". NME. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  10. ↑ hÉireann, Stair (25 May 2020). "The Legend of Cú Chulainn". stairnahaireann.net. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  11. ↑ Strauss, Matthew (30 June 2020). "Fontaines D.C Share New Song "Televised Mind": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  12. ↑ "Fontaines D.C. - Live". fontainesdc.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  13. ↑ "A Hero's Death by Fontaines D.C. reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  14. 1 2 "A Hero's Death by Fontaines DC Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 Martin, Liam. "A Hero's Death - Fontaines D.C. | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  16. ↑ Hansen, Susan (27 July 2020). "Fontaines DC - A Hero's Death". Clash. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  17. ↑ Jamieson, Sarah (31 July 2020). "Fontaines DC - A Hero's Death". DIY. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  18. 1 2 Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (30 July 2020). "Fontaines DC: A Hero's Death review – all the joy and despair of youth is here". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  19. ↑ O'Connor, Roisin (30 July 2020). "Fontaines DC review, A Hero's Death: Band address their own self-doubt while proving they have plenty more to say". The Independent. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  20. ↑ Clayton-Lea, Tony (31 July 2020). "Fontaines DC: A Hero's Death review - Same band, different songs, same brilliance". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  21. ↑ Horton, Ross (23 July 2020). "Fontaines DC - Hero's Death". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  22. ↑ Richards, Will (28 July 2020). "Fontaines D.C. – 'A Hero's Death' review: excoriating anthems about flirting with self-destruction". NME. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  23. ↑ Catchpole, Chris (August 2020). "We Are The Champions". Q (414): 100.
  24. ↑ Grow, Kory (30 July 2020). "Fontaines D.C. Balance Heavy Brooding, Fleeting Positivity on Second Album, 'A Hero's Death'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  25. ↑ "Taylor Swift brings Folklore CD release forward as chart race tightens". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  26. ↑ Brandle, Lars (10 August 2020). "Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' Outraces Fontaines D.C.'s 'A Hero's Death' For U.K. Chart Title". Billboard. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  27. ↑ "Fontaines D.C. "didn't want" chart battle with Taylor Swift". NME. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  28. ↑ A Hero's Death on iTunes
  29. ↑ "Fontaines D.C. | Big Nothing / A Hero's Death". ビッグ・ナッシング / ヒーローズ・デス | (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  30. ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  31. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Fontaines D.C. – A Hero's Death" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  32. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Fontaines D.C. – A Hero's Death" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  33. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Fontaines D.C. – A Hero's Death" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  34. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Fontaines D.C. – A Hero's Death" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  35. ↑ "Top Singles (Week 32, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  36. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Fontaines D.C. – A Hero's Death" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  37. ↑ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  38. ↑ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 32 (dal 31.07.2020 al 06.08.2020)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  39. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Fontaines D.C. – A Hero's Death". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  40. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  41. ↑ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 32: del 31.7.2020 al 6.8.2020" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  42. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Fontaines D.C. – A Hero's Death". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  43. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  44. ↑ "Fontaines D.C. Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard.
  45. ↑ "Fontaines D.C. Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
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