Dublin band Fontaines D.C. are releasing a new album called A Hero’s Death at the end of July, and today they’ve shared another new song from it called “I Don’t Belong”. The track is set to be the opener on the new record, with the band saying:
“This song is a dismissal of the expectations of other people who consider themselves loyal to you. We wanted it to be a statement, almost like the anti-“Big” [opening song on ‘Dogrel’], which is why we put it as the first song on the new album. This sentiment of not belonging can be liberating in a way, but it’s also lonely and sad. We wanted to show both sides of that type of loneliness.“
Fontaines draw an overcast mood on “I Don’t Belong”, their chords churning like rain coming down in lashes from a dull grey sky, while Grian Chatten’s voice marches through as a stark solitary figure. In the first verse he takes on the guise of a “a soldier who has his bravery commended by his country, but throws his medal down and refuses to accept the commendation [because] he sees it as a hijacking and commodification of his principles.” The second verse switches focus to “someone causing a ruckus in a bar, refusing to be enticed by any sort of friendliness and kindness, wanting to remain in the wrong corner.” Both characters are drawn in poetic detail, and given extra humanity by Chatten’s drawling delivery, which joins with the gloomy surrounding to make “I Don’t Belong” a cinematic whole.
The video for “I Don’t Belong” was directed remotely by the band’s bassist Connor Deegan III.
Fontaines D.C.’s new album A Hero’s Death is due out on July 31 via Partisan. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
