Fontaines D.C. announce fifth album ‘Dopamine Chamber’
The latest album from the Dublin band arrives in October and is being previewed by first single ‘Marianne’
By Nick Reilly
Fontaines D.C. have announced their fifth studio album Dopamine Chamber, as well as sharing the stirring lead single ‘Marianne’.
The latest record from the Irish titans will arrive on October 16 via XL Recordings and marks the follow-up to 2024’s Romance. Just like that last record, James Ford is on production duties.
According to an official release, lead single ‘Marianne’ is inspired in part by the 2024 thriller series Ripley and sees the vocals of frontman Grian Chatten being pitted against haunting instrumentation.
As for the record itself, it is said to “move between gratification and dread until the two meld together, reflecting the overwhelm of artificial intelligence, environmental collapse and political violence all riding the same algorithms as memes, jokes and celebrity culture”.
“The album itself is a dopamine chamber,” says Chatten. “You step inside and we test these different mind- or mood-altering pieces of music on you.”
“I think Romance was maybe 60 per cent human and 40 per cent corrupted by automation, and a loss of feeling,” added the singer. “This one feels more like 60 per cent corrupted — the mask is wearing the face a little more.”
“Our albums have always questioned a sense of place,” added bassist Conor Deegan. “First Dublin, then being away from Dublin, and then trying to find the romance elsewhere. On this record, the question became: where do you escape to?”
The record was made with Ford between London, the English countryside and Palermo, where Chatten recorded vocals in a makeshift booth built from mattresses and cushions.
“There’s a poignant sense of us being on the brink of some other kind of form of humanity, or non-humanity,” added Chatten.
It comes as the group gear up to headline Reading & Leeds festival later this month, before heading to Ireland’s Electric Picnic.
The new album comes after the band teased ‘Marianne’ during their Spain shows earlier this month, as well as debuting ‘Six Shot Morning’.
It marked their first dates since the unexpected death of Trevor Dietz, the band’s long-time manager, in June.