Fontaines D.C. have shared the news of the arrival of their fifth studio album, Dopamine Chamber, out October 16 via XL Recordings. The announcement came with the release of the album’s lead single, “Marianne.” A sonically soothing number full of electronic sounds and atmospheric synths that perfectly fit its theme surrounding escapism and hedonism. The single also arrives with a music video directed by Dave Meyers (Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE” and Travis Scott’s “SICKO MODE”), and boy, is it a feast for the eyes.
“The album itself is a dopamine chamber,” says lead singer Grian Chatten. “You step inside and we test these different mind- or mood-altering pieces of music on you.”
With Fontaines D.C‘s new album Dopamine Chamber, covering endless existential thoughts and the intersection of pleasure and peril, the band touches on artificial intelligence, environmental collapse and political violence. Real emotional topics that collide with the same algorithms as memes, jokes and celebrity culture.
Produced by James Ford, Dopamine Chamber follows Fontaines D.C.’s UK platinum-certified Romance (2024).
“I think Romance was maybe 60 per cent human and 40 per cent corrupted by automation, and a loss of feeling,” says Chatten, who spent time among the faded grandeur of Venice, Vienna and Sicily in search of lyrical inspiration. “This one feels more like 60 per cent corrupted — the mask is wearing the face a little more … I felt it would be more powerful to leave the hope out and reflect the ugliness honestly. This one needed to feel more like a catastrophic warning.”
“Our albums have always questioned a sense of place,” says 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?”
After a run of August shows in Europe, Fontaines D.C. will head to the U.S. to perform at music festivals Shaky Knees, Sea.Hear.Now, and Ohana.
BEST CONCERTS IN LOS ANGELES THIS MONTH
FONTAINES D.C. 2026 TOUR DATES
August 18th – Les Docks, Lausanne, Switzerland
August 20th – FM4 Frequency, Sankt Polten, Austria
August 28th – Reading Festival, UK
August 29th – Leeds Festival, UK
August 30th – Electric Picnic, Ireland
September 18th – Shaky Knees, Atlanta, GA, USA
September 20th – Sea.Hear.Now, Asbury Park, NJ, USA
September 27th – Ohana Festival, Dana Point, CA, USA
