Lead Story

Fontaines D.C. – Dopamine Chamber

The fifth album from Dublin’s Fontaines D.C. trades post-punk for polished pop-rock jams.

Commercially and reputationally, Fontaines D.C. took a huge leap forward with 2024’s Romance. While I will always maintain that 2022’s Skinty Fia is a stronger record, it’s hard to dispute that Romance elevated Fontaines to another tier, making them the biggest Irish band since U2.

Following up a monumental breakthrough is challenging enough, but when it comes off the back of a stylistic shift and revamped image, the task becomes almost insurmountable. So, Dopamine Chamber finds Fontaines D.C. at a crossroads, forcing them to choose between the well-worn path to arena stardom and a bumpy track towards wilder terrain. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Dublin boys don’t seem to want to get their fancy neon outfits dirty.

The icy synths of Dopamine Chamber primarily evoke Depeche Mode, The Cure, and New Order (especially “Mimesis”), but the practically sterile polish far exceeds anything those bands produced in their prime. At times I almost began to suspect that the algorithm had jumped to Imagine Dragons, which would have been an unthinkable comparison two years ago. For every “Happy For You,” a respectably competent anthem that channels contemporaries like The Murder Capital, along with Irish rock legends Whipping Boy, there is a lacklustre horror show like “Tongue”—surely the band’s creative nadir—or the equally dismal “Demolition,” which adopts the worst aspects of grunge.

Throughout, there is a nagging sense that Grian Chatten doesn’t quite have the vocal prowess to front the slick, pop-focused band Fontaines have become known for. His voice suits the moody post-punk of their early work, but it simply isn’t idiosyncratic enough to bring Dopamine Chamber’s more lifeless material to life. The one exception—and the album’s most thrilling moment—comes when he channels Lee Hazlewood on the Rosalía duet, “Where Is Gone?”

Coincidentally, “Where Is Gone?” also features the record’s most distinctive guitar work. Fontaines D.C.’s decision to push their most potent weapons to the margins is a puzzling one, but it feel central to Dopamine Chamber’s ultimate failure. The band’s talent is beyond question, but I sense that when the breathless acclaim for Dopamine Chamber dies down, few will continue to revisit this strangely flat misfire.

Dopamine Chamber is out now via XL Recordings.