(Credits: Fontaines D.C)
Sun 17 August 2025 10:00, UK
Fontaines DC have undergone the evolution process from caterpillars into butterflies over a relatively short space of time. Where only six years ago, they were blazingly lamenting the issues of Irish life, their music has now taken a much darker, artsier, and more conceptual turn.
There are fans on both sides of this equation, with nothing defining the sound of indie rock better than the band’s most recent record, Romance, diving headfirst into the depths of existentialism. While there is most definitely place to appreciate this – as has been done at length over the past year, celebrating the new prolific heights that the album achieved – it’s still worth taking a stroll down memory lane, and remembering how the journey of Fontaines DC really began.
‘Boys in the Better Land’, taken from their 2019 debut album Dogrel, is almost like the Irish version of ‘Parklife’ in its blazing sentiments of youthful spirit and inner city life. But within this, the dichotomy of characters – contrasting between a taxi driver set in his ways and another person venturing over from foreign lands, searching for a more valuable life – sets up a juxtaposition that resonates as one of the most pertinent narratives in modern song.
However, the title itself suggests a link to Fontaines DC’s overall psyche in a way that completely links their past to their present. The essence of what they are trying to communicate is that there is no such ‘better land’ anywhere in the world; it is just a figment of imagination and romance. In this sense, although many claim that the band’s themes and outlooks have dramatically changed over time, there’s not as much distance to travel as you might think.
Ultimately, this makes a strong case as to why ‘Boys in the Better Land’ is the epitome of the Fontaines DC back catalogue, not just in terms of its blistering punk sonics but equally also its sentiments. Without anyone realising it at the initial time of its release, the song bridges the exact essence of everything they are as a band – just young guys finding their way through life, but also grappling with all of the world’s biggest issues while trying to do it.
It’s a sentiment that extends to every corner of society and life – “If you’re a rap star, porn star, superstar, doesn’t matter what you are, get yourself a good car and get out of here” – with its constant lust to ultimately hit the road leading to nowhere. Youth can be full of bluster and unfulfilled ambition, but it’s really the hope that kills you. The fact that there is no other side. The fact that we’re all just stuck here.
Before we start spinning down an existential spiral, it is worth considering whether Fontaines DC set out on a musical mission to really make us think. Music can be superficial – you strum along in the car, or jump around in a crowd with your mates, but there is always a deeper layer to be found within this. ‘Boys in the Better Land’ seems like laddish bravado on the surface, but it just goes to show that everything is not what it seems.