Album Review: Fontaines D.C. - 'Dopamine Chamber'
Doom, dystopia and a sense of hope that feels scarily out of reach in Dopamine Chamber sees Fontaines D.C. cementing themselves not just as one of the best, but as THE best there is.
When they released Dogrel in 2019, Fontaines D.C., five lads from Ireland, hardly imagined that they’d eventually become one of the biggest bands in the world. They’ve been on a steady climb toward world domination ever since, taking their grungy, post-punk guitars and adding their own unique twists and tweaks through A Hero’s Death and Skinty Fia. Their fourth album, Romance, saw them spinning their familiar sound completely on its head. With neon colours, daydream synths and genius lyrical prose, Romance skyrocketed the band to otherworldly heights. Now, with their fifth album Dopamine Chamber, Fontaines D.C. have embraced their lost anonymity. Doom, dystopia and a sense of hope that feels scarily out of reach in Dopamine Chamber sees Fontaines D.C. cementing themselves not just as one of the best, but as THE best there is.
With Dopamine Chamber, Fontaines D.C. - made up of Grian Chatten, Carlos O’Connell, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan (Deego) and Tom Coll - focus in on the current destruction of humanity, the takeover of AI, the dystopia of watching war crimes happening on our phone screens alongside memes and promotions for fat loss jabs and Botox. With eerie synths, blistering guitars and ominous drums leading the charge, combined with frontman Grian Chatten’s distinct vocals and powerful penmanship, Dopamine Chamber, in the words of Chatten, is a “catastrophic warning.”
Six Shot Morning opens the album: an array of dreamlike synths with an ominous undertone, Chatten’s voice cutting through it, militant drums joining in, “fist in the air but you don’t ask why…/ silicon valley took a photograph…/ you and I living for a million years.” A striking portrayal of the grasp social media has on society, and how people are influenced by what they see on their phone. First single from the album Marianne follows; it feels heavier still, darker than Six Shot Morning. The crash of the drums, woozy guitars and feather-light synth sounds, with the breathy, beckoning vocals, turn the song into a hypnotic piece: “you should come and stay here / you can follow my lead / I can help you disappear.” An invitation to escape into the world of Fontaines D.C. and their Dopamine Chamber, instead of the small screens we are so accustomed to.
The five-piece dangle hope like a carrot to their listeners, but never hand it over completely, and honestly, why should they, when the world feels much like a black hole these days. “I felt it would be more powerful to leave the hope out and reflect the ugliness honestly,” Chatten said. “Give me something to hope for, and then I’ll write that album.” It’s refreshing for a band to admit they’re also struggling with the world we’re living in, but that doesn’t mean they don’t make hopelessness completely unenjoyable. Mimesis is an 80s synth-pop wonderland track, the doom and gloom of it all hidden behind light, disco beats. It’s an immediately infectious track, crawling under your skin without warning: “you feel like something in your head is dead inside / for real, well everybody’s depressed / we’re running on a wheel.”
Happy For You, a track about the disintegration of a toxic relationship, sees the group return back to their roots. Opening with the grungy twang of guitars, and Grian’s breathy vocals, it’s a track that feels like it could slot somewhere into Skinty Fia. While grungy-electronica Demolition has the spiky synth undertones from the beginning, the drone of the guitars and fast pace of the drums feel like another nod to the band’s past and where it all began. It must be said that it’s evident in this track and throughout the album that Chatten has really mastered his voice, has learnt to push it to its limit without it ever sounding or feeling forced. The rapid pace in Tongue, which is equal parts terrifying and thrilling, is proof of that, as is One Man. The latter has an eerie, dystopian feel to it from the beginning: the sound of children playing, along with the haunting addition of the strings, almost chill-inducing, while the vocals drawl and swirl, building alongside the strings, climbing to a peak as the strum of a guitar enters, “Dopamine chamber just trying to kill the pain / You can’t escape the feeling once you’ve given it a name.”
Each track elevates Dopamine Chamber further, just when you think Fontaines D.C. have reached their peak, the next song plays and leaves you starstruck once more. Where Is Gone? with ROSALÍA is a spellbinding, lovelorn ballad. The crushing guitars, the pull of the violin strings, and the Spanish popstar’s vocals blend seamlessly with Chatten’s spiky Irish tones to give this song an elegant, classic sound. While creating a dystopian dreamscape throughout the album, Fontaines D.C. are sure to never let synths take over completely. You Miss Me is a quirky blend of eerie, fuzzy 90s-esque guitars and drums, and a classic 90s pop ballad, but with an underlying ominous sound. While Japan is a striking acoustic number focusing on a one-sided relationship.
Dopamine Chamber opened with otherworldly synths, so it feels only right that Fontaines D.C. close the album in a similar fashion. The sci-fi, alien-like synth sounds and booming vocals crash together with fiery drums and guitars in the final track, Intimate, which leaves you feeling on edge, breathless. Fontaines D.C. quite literally have created their own Dopamine Chamber with this album, and it feels like a better one to get lost in than the one that’s offered to you on a phone. “The album itself is a dopamine chamber,” Chatten says. “You step inside, and we test these different mind- or mood-altering pieces of music on you.”
Dopamine Chamber is the perfect example as to why Fontaines D.C. are now one of the greatest bands of their generation. It’s a journey from start to finish, one that pushes boundaries, pulls apart emotions and leaves you begging for more.
Words by Angela English
