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BBC ATL INTRODUCING | WORLD EXCLUSIVES

Live and pre-recorded feature broadcast on ATL Introducing, October 2020

A HERO'S DEATH | WHY FONTAINES DC'S SOPHOMORE ALBUM COULD BE THEIR MAGNUM OPUS

"Life ain't always empty" sings Grian Chatten over rattling guitars and a hypnotic drum groove. He means it too.
The title track to his band Fontaines DC's new album, A Hero's Death shakes it's head at a planet Earth designed to make you feel like shit. It's a call to arms against self-hatred, a self-proclaimed 'list of rules for the self', spat out in his trademark southern accent. Since Fontaines' ascension from The Liberties area of Dublin (an area known for it's rich culture and literary history) back in 2017, the young frontman has became a sort of older brother type figure for teenagers and 20-somethings across Europe. Somewhere amidst Fontaines' mammoth live sound and post-punk aggression, rests a poetic voice, a gentle soul embroiled in it all...

JOSHUA BURNSIDE - INTO THE DEPTHS OF HELL- LYRICAL ANALYSIS

Reassurances from a departed love, ancient Irish folk and unabashed anger at Satan himself combine at lightspeed on Joshua Burnside’s sophomore record ‘Into The Depths Of Hell’. Somewhere amidst the melting pot of sounds, Paul Simon-esque African groove can be found mingling with a post-punk atmosphere (And You Evade Him/Born In The Blood). In the darker corners his banjo from embryonic (but still brilliant) releases like Black Dog Sin is heard plucking away diligently, as if recovered from a time-capsule (Nothing For Ye). Elsewhere, metal strikes metal in a Belfast shipyard, while civil war breaks out in the background (I Saw The Night). 

Where his NI Music Prize winning debut Ephrata teased moments of greatness, Into The Depths Of Hell spells it out like fireworks on a pitch black night. It shakes, stumbles and mourns alongside the listener, demanding another spin on the record player. To celebrate this landmark record, Taylor Johnson takes a dive into the depths of Joshua Burnside’s brain and 10 times his lyrics hit different...