Fontaines D.C. are back. The Irish quintet have announced their fifth album, Dopamine Chamber, out on October 16th via XL Recordings. They’ve also shared the album’s lead single, “Marianne.”
Dopamine Chamber follows Fontaines’ last album Romance, a project we named as one of the best albums of 2024. Produced once again by James Ford, the project finds the band moving further away from the guitar-rooted songwriting that characterized their first three records. Frontman Grian Chatten took inspiration from visits to Venice, Vienna, and Sicily and, alongside his bandmates, sought to capture a sound that reflected both pleasure and peril. “The album itself is a dopamine chamber,” said Chatten. “You step inside and we test these different mind — or mood-altering pieces of music on you.”
Chatten characterized Dopamine Chamber further in a press release, saying “I think Romance was maybe 60 percent human and 40 percent corrupted by automation, and a loss of feeling… This one feels more like 60 percent corrupted — the mask is wearing the face a little more.” Chatten also resisted offering a more optimistic resolution, deeming it “more powerful to leave the hope out and reflect the ugliness honestly. This one needed to feel more like a catastrophic warning.” Bassist Conor Deegan also added, “Our albums have always questioned a sense of place. 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?”
“Marianne,” the first offering from Dopamine Chamber, is out now. The track reprises some of the woozier, more atmospheric elements found in Romance, albeit with a larger embrace of new wave à la Eurythmics or The Cure. Chatten was inspired by the 2024 series Ripley, and imbues “Marianne” with themes of hedonism and escapism. With a throbbing synth bass line, cinematic strings, and Chatten’s signature baritone, it’s a track that demonstrates the contrasting principles of Dopamine Chamber: sweet release with a dark, intense undercurrent. Watch the Dave Meyers-directed music video for “Marianne” below.
Since the release of Romance, Fontaines D.C. — our 2024 Band of the Year — have toured frequently, made appearances at festivals like Primavera Sound and Rock Werchter, and released a deluxe version of the album, which included the single “It’s Amazing to Be Young.” They also contributed to the recent charity compilation HELP(2).
Fontaines have a handful of shows coming up at Atlanta’s Shaky Knees, Asbury Park’s Sea.Hear.Now, and SoCal’s Ohana Festival; they’ll also play Reading & Leeds Festivals in the UK this month. Get tickets to see Fontaines D.C. here.
Dopamine Chamber Artwork:
Fontaines D.C. 2026 Tour Dates:
08/18 — Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks
08/20 — Sankt Polten, AT @ FM4 Frequency
08/28 — Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
08/29 — Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
08/30 — Stradbally, IE @ Electric Picnic
09/18 — Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees
09/20 — Asbury Park, NJ @ Sea.Hear.Now
09/27 — Dana Point, CA @ Ohana Festival
