Review Summary: Rock for the New Age.
It’s no secret that rock music has largely fallen out of the mainstream consciousness. You don’t really need this explained to you at this point; it’s been discussed to death. There are myriad reasons for its decline, but it’s certainly a reality. You used to turn on the radio and easily flip between classic rock, modern alternative, and a thriving indie rock scene, but now it feels rare to hear a guitar-driven song outside of country. There may never be another rock band to reach the sky-high heights enjoyed by modern pop stars and rappers, but that doesn’t mean quality rock doesn’t exist. It’s just outside the mainstream, banging at the doors, desperate to be let back into the party.
Fontaines D.C. feel like they’re right at that cusp, having built some serious momentum since 2022’s
Skinty Fia. That album was something of an underground hit, with its dark, gothic post-punk sound appealing to diehards who loved that ’80s style.
Romance is where they really caught my eye. Rather than simply repeating themselves, they delivered something drastically different, with much greater mainstream appeal. A more accessible alternative rock sound, punctuated by a heavy dose of classic Britpop and layered with their own dreamy atmosphere, helped them stand out from the pack. For my money, “Starburster” is one of the songs of the decade. Its rapped verses caught me completely off guard at first, but I was stunned by how well they worked alongside the band’s alternative rock sound and post-punk edge.
Romance was the kind of album where you could imagine the hits dominating the radio, all without sacrificing the quirks and artistic flourishes that made Fontaines D.C. unique. In a rare example, moving toward the mainstream somehow made a band more interesting rather than simply turning a quality post-punk act into a more commercially palatable one.
Dopamine Chamber had quite a bit of hype to live up to. There were multiple directions the band could’ve gone, but they decided once again to boldly swerve left and almost completely reinvent their sound. This leaves us with three consecutive albums, each with its own distinct genre identity:
Skinty Fia being classic, dyed-in the-wool post-punk,
Romance being alternative rock with a love letter to Britpop woven into its DNA, and
Dopamine Chamber being dominated by the pulsating electronic synths of darkwave, synthpop, and even new wave. They’ve essentially traded one era of chart-topping British bands for another, with
Dopamine Chamber being much less Oasis and much more The Cure. Now, I do think the whole ’80s darkwave worship thing is more than a bit overdone at this point, but I can’t deny that Fontaines D.C. pull it off remarkably well in a way that complements their identity.
Dopamine Chamber comes out firing right out of the gate, with its first half containing some of the band's strongest material and some of my favorite music released this year. Perhaps I overuse the phrase, but man, I love a good opening song that sets the tone for what you're about to settle in and experience. “Six Shot Morning” does exactly that, driven by a throbbing electronic bassline that pops like lasers in a futuristic club, backed by ethereal synths and a flat, vocally distorted delivery. It's repetitive but undeniably effective, lulling you into a trance before the drums suddenly kick in. The song builds toward a crescendo that briefly dissipates before erupting into an explosive finale, with noisy guitars finally breaking through. “Marianne” and “Mimesis” continue that momentum, with upbeat, pounding synths taking center stage. The former features an incredible earworm of a hook and a beautiful, celestial atmosphere, while the latter is my favorite song on the album and an instant standout. “Mimesis” has an absolutely massive, danceable new-wave sound, built around a distinct electronic kick drum and underpinned by a deliciously groovy guitar lick. Of course, the song also has one hell of a chorus, with Grian Chatten's breathy baritone perfectly suited to the signature sound of '80s darkwave and post-punk. It's so firmly rooted in that era that I could easily imagine it playing in the background of
The Guest, one of my favorite films, whose synthwave and gothic soundtrack is crucial to the movie's character. Give it a watch this Halloween season. The momentum continues with “Happy for You,” a downtrodden banger punctuated by noisy detonations, while “Demolition” sounds a bit more like
Romance and boasts one of the biggest singalong hooks I've heard in a while, with Chatten showing off some impressive vocal range.
If the album had maintained that pace, it would certainly be in the running for one of my favorites of the year. Unfortunately, it's almost as if the band ran out of gas in the back half. There's a clear line of demarcation here, and that would be the second lead single “Tongue.” The rapping returns, but it feels out of place when combined with the darkwave and trip-hop influences. It's repetitive in the worst way, made up almost entirely of an extended chorus and refrain that honestly become quite irritating. After “Tongue,” the band shifts toward much more downbeat and stripped-back material, starting with “One Man” and “Where Is Gone?” Both tracks halt much of the propulsive energy that drove the album forward, sharing a slower pace and prominent acoustic guitars. The latter features Rosal*a and Chatten trading lines in a way that recalls Interpol's Paul Banks, eventually coming together for a chorus that doesn't leave much of an impression. The performances are solid, but the songwriting feels lacking and bland for such a prominent feature. “Japan” is much more in line with
Romance, but ends up feeling like a lesser version of “Motorcycle Boy,” which makes for a much better Oasis tribute. Its more understated approach and talkier vocal delivery could work, but the song needed a bit more spunk and liveliness.
At least the album closes with a bang. “Intimate” is much more in line with the style and quality of the first half, making for an excellent bookend to the opener and bringing the album full circle. It's lyrically repetitive and driven by pulsating synths, yet still retains the soul of Fontaines D.C. Chatten is a one-of-a-kind talent, his charming Irish accent lending character to a delivery that shifts from the chorus's flat, post-punk style to an entirely rapped verse that arrives at just the right moment. The song then closes with a memorable, repetitious outro in which a sentence begins with “intimate” or “intimately” sixteen times. It's a showcase of everything Fontaines D.C. do so well when their genre-blending instincts click: taking familiar influences, twisting them into something distinctly their own, and finding genuine magic in the process.
Is
Dopamine Chamber genuine artistic evolution or just cynical genre hopping? I understand the criticism that the album is a sort of pastiche, a collection of popular trends and commercially appealing sounds that aren't necessarily unique in themselves. However, even with its unevenness, I can't help but respect what Fontaines D.C. are doing here. Their reinventions have produced some gargantuan highs, and they still retain their signature building blocks, led by Chatten's wonderful vocal range and delivery, while combining them with three distinctly different sounds across successive albums. It's worth remembering how difficult that is to pull off, and even
Dopamine Chamber showcases how easily these kinds of experiments can stumble. Most bands fall flat on their faces when attempting to change their sound, let alone doing so this dramatically more than once. It makes me wonder just how far Fontaines D.C. could take these bold swings and what other styles they might tackle next. I don't know if
Dopamine Chamber is destined for next-level success and massive airplay, but if there's a rock band built for the modern era and its sensibilities, it's Fontaines D.C.
