Fontaines D.C. have released their fifth studio album. Dopamine Chamber came out Friday, October 16, two years after Romance, and carries the Dublin five-piece deeper into the synth-laced, studio-built sound they began exploring with producer James Ford, who returns behind the desk.
Frontman Grian Chatten pitches the album as an experiment run on the listener, a sequence of songs designed to tilt your mood one way and then another. Its themes sit in the overload of modern life, where talk of AI, climate breakdown and political violence moves through the same feeds as jokes and celebrity news. Chatten has also said he chose to strip away the hopeful notes this time, wanting the record to land as a warning.
A first duet and a Stranger Things cameo
The standout collaboration is “Where Is Gone?”, sung with Rosalía, the first time the band has brought another artist onto one of their studio recordings. Guitarist Carlos O’Connell, who has family ties to both Ireland and Spain, has said he has admired her since her debut. Earlier singles “Marianne,” with a video by Dave Meyers, and “Tongue” set up the release, and on launch day the band shared a clip for “Japan,” directed by Luna Carmoon and starring Charlie Heaton.
The album arrives at a high point for the group. Romance became their first platinum album in the UK and Ireland and picked up Grammy nominations, and the band is now signed to XL Recordings.
Their live schedule is getting bigger too. UK and European arena dates this autumn include London’s The O2, while 2027 brings stadium shows at Newcastle’s St James’ Park and London Stadium, two nights at Manchester’s Heaton Park, two homecoming headline shows at Slane Castle and US arena dates.
Image: Fontaines D.C. Photo: Ewen Spencer, via DIY.
Sources: Radio X, Rock Cellar, The Guardian, DIY.