Fontaines D.C. Announce New Album Dopamine Chamber, Unveil “Marianne”: Stream

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.” Get Fontaines D.C. Tickets 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 ou...