"I Don't Belong" is a song by Irish band

Fontaines D.C. Fontaines D.C. are an Irish post-punk band formed in Dublin in 2017. The band consists of Grian Chatten (vocals), Carlos O'Connell (guitar), Conor Curley (guitar), Conor Deegan III (bass), and Tom Coll (drums). After meeting while attending mu ...

from their third studio album, '' A Hero's Death'' (2020). The song was written by Carlos O'Connell, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan III, Grian Chatten and Tom Coll, while production was handled by Dan Carey. It was released on 9 June 2020 by Rough Trade and

Partisan Records Partisan Records is an independent record label with offices in London and Los Angeles, as well as in New York City, where the company was co-founded in 2007 by Tim Putnam and Ian Wheeler. The label, initially run out of Putnam’s South Brooklyn ...

as the second single from the album. A mid-tempo

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

song, "I Don't Belong", is about dismissing expectations imposed by other people onto themselves. The production of the song features needeled electric guitars, a bass guitar, and drums, with elements of

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and

surf rock Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a Music genre, genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is in ...

. Thematically, "I Don't Belong" discusses various scenarios that trace back to the message of the track. The opening is about soldier who has his military service commended by his country, but rejects the medal as the soldier sees the acceptance of the medal as compromising their personal principles. The second verse focuses about a fight breaking out in a bar, due to onself refusing to be enticed by friendliness or kindness. Upon the single's release, "I Don't Belong" received critical acclaim from contemporary music critics, with some in retrospect, calling it one of the most musically mature singles on the album. Praise was directed at Chatten's singing and the overall song structure, and Carey's production of the track. Commercially, "I Don't Belong" was the band's second single to chart, the first being the self-titled track for the album, which was released earlier that spring. The song peaked at 86 in the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

. One music video was made to accompany the track, which was directed by Deegan III and produced by Hugh Mulhern, was released on 10 June. The visual depicts lead singer, Chattan, singing across the Irish countryside while going on a walk.

Release and promotion

Live performances

The song was released during the worldwide

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, limiting the band's ability to perform the song live or in front of a live audience. Due to the pandemic and related vaccination rollout, the first live performance of the song was during a

livestream Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...

on 23 November 2020 at the

O2 Academy Brixton Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...

. The band did not perform the song in front of a live audience until 2 August 2021, when they performed at the Pryzm nightclub in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

, United Kingdom. An acoustic version of the song premiered on 16 November 2020. It was filmed in October 2020 at La Blogothèque in Paris.

Commercial performance

"I Don't Belong" was the band's second single to chart in a commercial chart, reaching 86 in their home nation of Ireland in the

Music video

A corresponding music video for the song was released on 10 June 2020. The music video was shot in March and April 2020 with in

Skerries, Dublin Skerries () is a coastal town in Fingal, in the north of County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Skerries was historically a fishing port and later a centre of hand embroidery. These industries declined in the early 20th century, however, ...

, Ireland, the hometown of lead singer, Grain Chatten. The video, directed by bassist Conor Deegan III, shows Chatten singing walking past numerous sites in Skerries before ultimately being submerged in the water on the coast. The music video, originally planned to be shot in London, was shot in Skerries due to the onset of the

. Basssit Connor Deegan III explained that the band "had a whole different video shoot planned in London" for the track. The purpose of the filming in Skerries was to "use the limitations to our benefit. To try to match the emotional feel of the song but without being heavy-handed. Telling a visual story parallel to the lyrics." Deegan further told ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' that Chatten's character "goes on a walk, passing by all these places. He’s telling us this dramatic story that slowly grows as the verses go on. At the start you do and you don’t really get a sense of the anxiety or negativity to come. It’s buried under the surface. At the end he submerges himself, completely consumed by his inner thoughts finally coming out into the world."

Charts

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from ''A Hero's Death'' album liner notes. * Grian Chatten vocals,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

* Carlos O'Connell guitar * Conor Curley guitar, piano * Tom Coll drums, percussion * Conor Deegan bass guitar * Dan Carey production, mixing

References

{{Fontaines D.C. 2020 songs 2020 singles Partisan Records singles Fontaines D.C. songs