After IDLES and Sleaford Mods, in the ongoing ‘rebirth’ of British(ish) music with a conscience (I know it’s always been there it just feels like it’s again being noticed by the mainstream), comes an Irish viewpoint and take on the idea with Fontaines D.C. and their debut album Dogrel (tellingly released through Partisan Records who also put out IDLES work).

From the start we are thrown straight into a kind of post-punk infused indie rock on Big and Sha Sha Sha that combine elements of the Manchester scene of the late 70s that gave us Joy Division and The Fall with something of the poppy swing of some mid-2000s indie while singer Grian Chatten presents it all with a defiant strength that is instantly captivating.

As we get to Too Real and Television Screens the post-punk elements come to the fore and other than for Chatten’s accent, if you’d told me had come from late 70s Manchester I wouldn’t have been surprised.

Creating a sparse industrial feel with higher register guitar and bass and a vocal delivery reminiscent of a slightly less nihilistically belligerent Mark E. Smith they paint a stark and bleak picture of modern life in the British Isles before Hurricane Laughter ups the energy as something of a more energised companion to Television Screens and sets the scene for what’s still to come while being a centre piece for the record as a whole.

After Roy’s Tune brings a previously unheard tunefulness and lyricism, it may sound stereotypical but there’s something particularly Irish to this though it also maintains the band’s overall world view focussing it on a more directly on issues around unemployment and the like, and The Lotts takes us back into the atmospheric post-punk darkness, we get a three pronged volley of driving, almost garage rock infused, tracks to finish.

Chequeless Reckless has a direct feel with spoken vocals that brings to mind Queens Of The Stone Age before Liberty Belle picks up the pace further heading into the fuzzy gallop of Boys In The Better Land which almost ends the record with the idea that throughout the band have been showing us their world and this is their route out of it, though I suspect they don’t really want out of that world as it is the fuel that drives them.

It all then comes full circle with Dublin City Sky that closes the record with a lovelorn folky drinking song, definitely pulling their inspiration from The Pogues into focus, as if to say you can take the boys out of Dublin but you can’t take the Dublin out of the boys.

While different in style to a point Dogrel certainly reminds me of IDLES debut Brutalism in all the best ways as it takes well worn sounds and brings them right up to date while adding their own twist.

The stand out twist from Fontaines D.C. comes with the lyrics and the vocals that have a true lyrical poetic feel to them bordering on beat, as if you could take away the music and you’d still be left with a brilliantly impactful poem, but the music just lifts it that bit more.

Added to this the whole thing left me with the feeling that it would make for a frenzied live show which is always great to hear on record and, as they’ve been nominated for a Mercury Prize this year, alongside not just IDLES but similarly politically minded grime and hip hop artist slowthai, it seems I’m not alone in my appreciation for their debut record and they join a growing list of bands looking to revitalise and reenergise music from the British Isles in the face of an increasingly middle of the road mainstream.