Fontaines D.C. Announce Fifth Album 'Dopamine Chamber' and Share New Single 'Marianne'
Fontaines D.C. have announced their fifth studio album, 'Dopamine Chamber', due 16th October via XL Recordings, alongside lead single 'Marianne'.
Produced by James Ford, the album follows 2024’s platinum-certified 'Romance' but pushes the band into markedly stranger territory. Cold synthesiser tones, marching drums, samples and strings inspired by 1960s Italian pop replace much of the guitar-driven language that defined their earlier work, with several tracks reportedly containing no guitars at all.
'Marianne' sets the tone: an opulent, seductive song about escapism and hedonism, its decaying grandeur masking a darker meditation on catastrophe and the desire to disappear from it. Grian Chatten describes 'Dopamine Chamber' itself as a space where the band can test different “mind- or mood-altering pieces of music”.
“I think 'Romance' was maybe 60 per cent human and 40 per cent corrupted by automation, and a loss of feeling. 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,” Chatten shares.
The record confronts a culture where artificial intelligence, environmental collapse and political violence compete for attention alongside memes, celebrity and endless digital stimulation. Chatten says the album feels “60 per cent corrupted”, reflecting a world where “the mask is wearing the face”.
The band have numerous live shows across the course of August and September, including Reading & Leeds Electric Picnic, and more.
'Marianne' is out now via XL Recordings.
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