2024 was a defining year for Dublin quintet Fontaines D.C., whose fourth album ROMANCE was lauded as one of the year’s very best, cementing their status as one of the most exciting bands in contemporary music. Topping multiple “album of the year” lists around the world, ROMANCE was quickly certified gold in the UK and saw the band nominated for two GRAMMYs and a BRIT Award among a host of accolades; a celebration of Fontaines D.C.’s ambitious world-building and bold musical evolution.
Today, Fontaines D.C. – Grian Chatten (vocals), Carlos O’Connell (guitar), Conor Curley (guitar), Conor Deegan (bass), and Tom Coll (drums) – launch into 2025 with brand new single, “It’s Amazing To Be Young.” Produced by ROMANCE album producer James Ford, it’s Fontaines D.C. at their most anthemic and is set to soundtrack a huge year of live shows for the band. The single is accompanied by a video from acclaimed BAFTA-winning filmmaker Luna Carmoon (Hoard, Shagbands), who previously directed the videos for Fontaines D.C.’s “Here’s The Thing” and “In The Modern World.” “It’s Amazing To Be Young” completes the cinematic trilogy, bringing together “In The Modern World”’s Martin (Ewan Mitchell) and “Here’s The Thing’s” Spider (Grace Collender) in an unlikely but beautifully surreal love story.
Speaking about the song, Conor Deegan III says: “It’s Amazing To Be Young is a song that was written in the presence of a newborn child – Carlos’ child. It sounded more like a lullaby or a music box then, but with the same lyric- “it’s amazing to be young”. The feeling of hope a child can give is profound and moving, especially for young men like us. That sense of wanting to create a world for them to grow up in happily. It’s a feeling that fights against the cynicism that can often overtake us in the modern world. So we wanted to declare which side we were on – it really is amazing to be young. We are still free, and want to make that feeling spread. We want to protect it for the others around us, and maybe in doing that, can also help protect it for ourselves.”
While on the video, director Luna Carmoon adds: “I love this new track – it’s one of my favourites Fontaines have done and I love that I got to complete the trilogy of videos for it. It was all natural and kind of a surprise that the three videos came together. I’ve got to work with such a beautiful team and was really given the space and breath to create the worlds that automatically came to me when hearing the music. I feel like we’re living in this weird time where romantic love is being pushed to the side, and sex and love is unvirtuous and no longer what people want to see. I don’t believe that at all. I love that these two people have fallen in love with themselves, and I wanted to see them fall in love with each other. I planted the seed after I did the carjitsu video (“In The Modern World”) and then I had a couple of days to write the video for “It’s Amazing To Be Young”. There are a lot of odes to Santa Sangre it. It also reminds me of my first short film Shagbands”
SHARE / LISTEN TO “IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG”
WATCH THE LUNA CARMOON-DIRECTED MUSIC VIDEO
“It’s Amazing To Be Young” will also be available on limited edition 7” vinyl featuring new b-side “Before You I Just Forget”, and is available to pre-order here.
The single release precedes a huge year of live activity for Fontaines D.C., who will perform to 100,000 people across four sold out UK outdoor headline shows in London, Manchester, Newcastle and Cardiff this summer, including a 45,000-capacity event at London’s Finsbury Park on July 5th. These shows will crown sold-out dates around the world, including Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and North America alongside a run of high-profile festival appearances. Full dates below and full ticket info via https://fontainesdc.com/pages/live
