One night, while going down a YouTube rabbit hole, I came across a documentary about the Dublin band Fontaines D.C. It was released in 2020, and was filmed while the band was recording their debut album. It’s fascinating to watch now, six years later, after they’ve become one of the biggest alternative bands in the world.
Since 2019, Fontaines D.C. has released four albums, and although they’ve always fit into what we would call the “post punk” genre, they’ve definitely evolved over the years. Their second album, 2020’s A Hero’s Death, was a massive leap forward for the band, and since then they’ve broadened their sound and raised their profile. Elton John called them “the best band out there right now” in 2024, and their song “Starburster” has become one of those instant classics that leaves you unable to imagine life before it.
Fontaines D.C. has announced their upcoming fifth album, Dopamine Chamber, to be released in October. In a press release, lead singer Grian Chattan said the album needed to feel like “a catastrophic warning.”
“I think Romance (their previous album) was maybe 60% human and 40% corrupted by automation, and a loss of feeling,” he said. “This one feels more like 60% 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.”
The first single, “Marianne,” is here now, and from this video, it definitely looks and sounds like we’re in for a dark, moody ride when the album comes out (just kidding, we already knew that).
The video prominently features Chattan, who’s turning into an all-time great frontman, and a woman we can only assume is the titular Marianne. Trying to make sense of Fontaines D.C.'s lyrics is frequently a fool’s errand, but the band confirmed via press release that the song was inspired by the 2024 Netflix series Ripley, which is how I found about that show.
“Marianne” is a slow head bopper that continues what the band accomplished on Romance. Fans of Depeche Mode, Echo and the Bunnymen, Siouxsie and the Banshees and other classic bands of that sort will feel right at home here. That’s selling them a bit short, though: Fontaines D.C. is very much doing their own thing, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of the record.
Dopamine Chamber will be released Oct. 16, and it’s available for pre-order now on the band’s website.