Albums to watch

Skinty Fia

Fontaines D.C.

Skinty Fia

Third album from the Dublin post-punk quintet produced by Dan Carey (Hot Chip, Franz Ferdinand)

ADM rating[?]

8.3

Label
Partisan
UK Release date
22/04/2022
US Release date
22/04/2022
  1. 10.0 |   musicOMH

    A magnificent third album which serves as the crowning point of a career that is, excitingly, still in its infancy
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  2. 10.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Skinty Fia is a rich, full-bodied third entry, with Fontaines DC proving they’re not only here to stay, but here to dominate
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  3. 10.0 |   DIY

    It’s heavy, but never heavy-going
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  4. 10.0 |   Dork

    ‘Skinty Fia’ is made up of so many influences that it should be creaking under its own weight, yet is somehow such a unified whole that it’s hard to imagine how it could be improved
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  5. 10.0 |   NME

    On their third album, the five-piece ambitiously broaden their style, making for a breathtaking collection that’s like nothing they’ve ever done before
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  6. 9.0 |   Gigwise

    Their best to date
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  7. 9.0 |   Uncut

    It's a fantastic album, containing poppy firecrackers like “Jackie Down The Line" and moments of timeless, mature lament such as “?h? Couple Across the Way"

  8. 9.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Fontaines D.C. have created an epic that keeps on progressing throughout, pushing way beyond their previous boundaries
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  9. 9.0 |   Spill Magazine

    It is hard to believe it is their third album, as groups try for decades to write and record such a powerful album. Fontaines D.C. have succeeded and this is the mark of a truly great band, the ability to grow and develop as they have in a very short time
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  10. 8.5 |   Under The Radar

    The album fits perfectly with the mood of the times and it’s apparent that these songs were built with an honest, emotional grit
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  11. 8.4 |   Beats Per Minute

    Moody, grittily philosophic, and cautiously revealing, Skinty Fia spotlights a distinct band as they pivot toward mid-career status, mining the expressive paradoxes on which longevity is built
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  12. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    Seems as much a final part of a trilogy as anything else
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  13. 8.0 |   The Independent

    Production on the record confidently stretches the band’s sound to fill a stadium stage, without sacrificing their compelling friction between surly grit and romantic yearning
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  14. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    On their third album, the Dublin alt-rockers trade in their punky full-pelt approach for measured, compelling insights
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  15. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    If it wasn’t for Grian Chatten’s doomy vocals, this could be a different band to the one that made Dogrel
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  16. 8.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    ‘Skinty Fia’ is an intense listen. One centred on authenticity and passion; rooted in the need to find and express purpose, and the quest to solidify identity
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  17. 8.0 |   Clash

    Powerful and probing, ‘Skinty Fia’ is a record that relishes tough challenges, and refuses simple answers
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  18. 8.0 |   XS Noize

    The album shows the band at a juncture, questioning their career and move to London, with the questions being answered with brooding basslines and repetitive, relentless lyrics
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  19. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Skinty Fia — both phrase and record — might hint at a grim extinction event, but by staring down the prospect of built-in obsolescence, the loss of self, Fontaines D.C. sound full of new lite. Print edition only

  20. 8.0 |   Record Collector

    The tensions that consume Fontaines – musically, personally, philosophically – continue to propel them forward: Skinty Fia is another triumph for this era’s most vital group
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  21. 8.0 |   All Music

    Skinty Fia may feature some of their most self-assured songwriting to date but thematically this is a band seeking reconciliation between their Irish identity and their status in the UK music scene, a relationship fraught with inherent contradictory emotions
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  22. 8.0 |   The FT

    The Dublin band, now based in London, mix anger and melancholia in a well-constructed album of lyrical depth
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  23. 8.0 |   Pitchfork

    The Irish post-punk band’s most demanding and musically adventurous album is also its most open-hearted, striking a perfect balance between tough and tender
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  24. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    With Skinty Fia Fontaines D.C. deliver a brooding post-punk sensual feast with a distinctly Irish flavor. Longing, alienation, and malice simmer under the surface
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  25. 7.4 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    Fontaines D.C. have never sounded more at odds with themselves than here, a logical aftershock of the cultural disconnection that comes with leaving one's home for good
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  26. 7.1 |   Spectrum Culture

    On Skinty Fia, Fontaines D.C. dip their toes into several different sonic pools that lie outside their typical post-punk and gothic inspired sound
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  27. 6.0 |   The Skinny

    There's a great album in Fontaines D.C., and Skinty Fia takes them one step closer
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  28. 5.8 |   A.V. Club

    The Irish band returns with a third album of post-punk that fails to elevate its Bauhaus and Joy Division-aping tendencies
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