Fontaines DC – Dopamine Chamber

If any further proof was needed that Fontaines DC are the best band of the UK and Ireland 2010 post-punk revival generation (and surely vie with Eire’s past and present musical legends as the best Irish band of all time), people need to look no further than their latest release, Dopamine Chamber.

Coming near the end of what frontman Grian Chatten has called a “very tough year”, given the death of manager Trevor Dietz, who passed away in June, their fifth LP amazingly continues their seemingly never-ending golden run since the scrappy-sounding guitar punk of their 2019 debut Dogrel.

As with every previous recording, and perhaps similar to the ever-evolving approach stalwarts of the noughties rock revival generation prior to Fontaines, Arctic Monkeys, have taken, the band’s newest record gorgeously metamorphoses from 2024’s Grammy-nominated Romance. And the new guise for the Dublin five-piece is a darkly alluring and astonishingly beautiful suite of songs where the real proof of the LP’s brilliance is that, though great, the recent crop of single releases are not even the best tracks.

Synth-driven lead single Marianne and the delightfully Morricone-inspired duet Where Is Gone? featuring Rosalía should be staples of Fontaines DC live shows beyond their promotion of Dopamine Chamber. But sandwiched between those songs are highlights that have not been released individually yet and may just remain as deep album cuts that true fans can (and casual listeners really should) embrace for years to come.

Happy for You and You Miss Me start with Cure-esque riffs before blooming into epic finales perfect for the large outdoor venues they will be frequenting in the UK next summer. In addition, there is Demolition, an electro-grunge sledgehammer that hits harder each time the track’s stuttering guitar riff comes around again.

The other six tracks not mentioned, though, are still worthwhile riches on this 11-song treasure chest of a record that will surely be deserved album of the year when taking a retrospective look at 2026 in the last days of December. In fact, one can probably save oneself the inevitable and crown it with this accolade already.

Francis Nash
Image: Ewen Spencer

Dopamine Chamber is released on 16^th October 2026. For further information or to order the album, visit Fontaines DC’s website here.

Watch the video for Japan here: