Out now: Fontaines D.C. – Dopamine Chamber

Fontaines D.C. (Grian Chatten, Carlos O’Connell, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan and Tom Coll) today release their acclaimed fifth album Dopamine Chamber. The follow-up to 2024’s UK platinum-certified Romance, it’s the sound of a band moving decisively away from the guitar language of their early records and into their most inventive and seductive music yet.

Produced by James Ford and preceded by singles ‘Marianne’, ‘Tongue’, and their collaboration with ROSALÍA, ‘Where Is Gone?’, the third song shared ahead of the full release earlier this week, it showcases a whole new side of the record: a sweeping, elegant duet in which Grian Chatten and ROSALÍA’s voices intertwine over lush orchestration.

‘Where Is Gone?’ is the first artist collaboration on a Fontaines D.C. album. It’s also a song of particular significance to the band’s Carlos O’Connell, who has recently been reconnecting with his own Spanish heritage. “I’ve been a fan of ROSALÍA since her debut album, which was absolutely beautiful,” he says. “What really excited me was how she was keeping a Spanish tradition of music alive, which in a spiritual way felt akin to what we’ve tried to do with Irish music. For someone with roots in both countries, it’s been beautiful to see. She’s an artist who’s blown me away at every stage since.”

The album arrives like a constellation behind undulating sighs of smog: potent balladry, anthemic melodies glinting through the murk. In a world tipping towards collapse, it asks how pleasure mutates amid peril—and what our pursuit of it reveals about us. “The album itself is a dopamine chamber,” says Chatten. “You step inside and we test these different mind- or mood-altering pieces of music on you.”

Across five albums, the Irish five piece have refused to repeat themselves – from Dogrel (2019) through A Hero’s Death (2020), the UK and Irish No. 1 Skinty Fia (2022) and the anarchic, kaleidoscopic Romance (2024). Dopamine Chamber is their most radical turn yet. It was made with James Ford between London, the English countryside and Palermo, where Chatten recorded vocals in a makeshift booth built from mattresses and cushions. “There’s a poignant sense of us being on the brink of some other kind of form of humanity, or non-humanity,” says Chatten. For their fifth album, Fontaines D.C. have built the chamber. What happens to the listener inside it will be the experiment.

Fontaines D.C. recently announced their biggest ever headline shows – taking in arenas across the UK and Europe in 2026 and then huge outdoor and stadium shows in 2027 and their biggest North American shows to date. These include two nights at Ireland’s legendary Slane Castle (26th and 27th June), Blackweir Fields, Cardiff (29th June), St James’ Park, Newcastle (1st July), Heaton Park, Manchester (3rd and 4th July), Glasgow Green (6th July) and London Stadium (9th July). Head to fontainesdc.com for full dates & details of all shows.

Fontaines D.C. will be returning to Australia for Laneway Festival and arena shows in Perth and Adelaide in February 2027, marking their biggest Australian headline shows to date. Tickets on sale now, details below.

Purchase / download Dopamine Chamber here.
Stream / download ‘Where Is Gone? (with ROSALÍA)’ here.

Fontaines D.C. Australia & NZ Tour 2027

Presented by Laneway Festival & Handsome Tours

Tue, 9 Feb 2027
RAC Arena, Perth, WA (Headline Show)

Fri, 12 Feb 2027
Laneway Festival, Sydney, NSW

Sat, 13 Feb 2027
Laneway Festival, Brisbane, QLD

Wed, 17 Feb 2027
AEC Arena, Adelaide, SA (Headline Show)

Fri, 19 Feb 2027
Laneway Festival, Melbourne, VIC

Sun, 21 Feb 2027
Laneway Festival, Auckland, NZ

Tickets and tour details via handsometours.com