It has been a great month, musically. And yet I always knew that it would end with me listening to Grian Chatten's Chaos For The Fly on June 30 and succumbing to the inevitable truth: this is, far and away, the best album of the month. Despite its B-movie cover, despite the fact that Grian Chatten was not even supposed to released a solo album in the first place... Because the songs are that good.
Grian Chatten is the vocalist of Fontaines D.C., the Irish band known for consistency and distinctive musical style (literate post-punk with substance and personality). Strictly speaking, there is no great need for a vocalist in a successful band to take a detour. And yet, as the legend goes (it is a bit too early for legends, I guess, but time goes differently Dublin), Grian was walking by the sea at some point last year and this album came to him in one giant wave. The whole of it actually, down to the arrangements and vocal melodies. Still, however it happened, one thing is clear: we should be thankful to the Irish Sea.
Chaos For The Fly is not a flashy album, it is personal and a little claustrophobic in places. The second single "Fairlies" could actually be described as downright depressing (with lyrical gems like "till you are twisted and you are shining like a varicose vein") - except for the lush, soaring arrangements that culminate in a beautiful outburst of violins and guts. The album is, in fact, very beautifully produced. It manages to be both raw and delicate, with piano, subtle orchestration, synths, sax, guitars and everything else deployed sparingly, with taste and restraint.
Fontaines D.C. are more overpowering - but this goes for a deeper feeling. At no expense of melodies, either, which are uniformly heartfelt and well-written. There is a Leonard Cohen edge to "The Score", the jolly folk-ish charm to "Salt Throwers Off A Truck", the timeless anthemic quality to "All Of The People", the engaging spareness to "East Coast Bed".
The album is not perfect (the aforementioned "East Coast Bed", for instance, does not have a convincing melody), but I might just like it more than anything Fontaines D.C. have released thus far. Fontaines D.C. tend to go for your head, and Chaos For The Fly goes straight for the heart. It is a lonesome and anxious heart (it is, after all, a season for pain), but thet makes the experience all the more genuine and authentic. Final thought: the last minute of the closing song is a stroke of genius - I wonder if that, too, came from the Irish Sea. Because I could not possibly love it any more than I already do.
Rating: ★★★★½
