Fontaines D.C. - Dopamine Chamber Fontaines D.C.
Pickup available at Record Plant Farsley
Usually ready in 24 hours
Fontaines D.C. announce their fifth studio album, Dopamine Chamber, released on 16th October via XL Recordings. Produced by James Ford, it is the follow-up to 2024’s UK platinum-certified Romance – and the sound of a band moving decisively away from the guitar language of their early records into something colder, stranger and more synthetic. It arrives today alongside lead single “Marianne” and its accompanying video, directed by Dave Meyers.
Dopamine Chamber 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. Across the album, Fontaines D.C. – Grian Chatten, Carlos O’Connell, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan and Tom Coll – move between gratification and dread until the two meld together, reflecting the overwhelm of artificial intelligence, environmental collapse and political violence all riding the same algorithms as memes, jokes and celebrity culture. “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.”
Where Romance held its tension in balance, this record tips it. “I think Romance was maybe 60 per cent human and 40 per cent corrupted by automation, and a loss of feeling,” says Chatten, who spent time among the faded grandeur of Venice, Vienna and Sicily in search of lyrical inspiration. “This one feels more like 60 per cent corrupted — the mask is wearing the face a little more.” He resisted any pull towards easy optimism: “I felt it would be more powerful to leave the hope out and reflect the ugliness honestly. This one needed to feel more like a catastrophic warning.”
“Our albums have always questioned a sense of place,” says bassist Conor Deegan. “First Dublin, then being away from Dublin, and then trying to find the romance elsewhere. On this record, the question became: where do you escape to?” Into the self, perhaps – or hedonism, fantasy, cosmetic perfection, eternal youth or the endless refresh of a screen.
Fontaines D.C. have spent five albums refusing to repeat themselves – from Dogrel (2019) through A Hero’s Death (2020), the No. 1 Skinty Fia (2022) and the anarchic, kaleidoscopic Romance (2024). Dopamine Chamber is their most radical turn yet: cold synthesiser tones, marching drums, samples and triggers, several songs with no guitars at all, and the swooning strings of 1960s Italian pop pulled into something synthetic. For guitarist Conor Curley, the aim was to break from the band’s own reference points: “I was trying to find stuff that pointed into the future.” 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.
Product information
UNITED KINGDOM
Singles/7” £3.50 + £1 per each additional record.
LPs and 10”: £5.00 for up to 2kg and between £51 and £150 – Tracked 48
LPS and 10”: £12.00 for up to 2kg and over £150 – Royal Mail Special Delivery
For Packages above 2kg (6 plus records) – £10.95 up to 5kg and 15.95 from 5k to 10k
Delivery is by Parcel Force
EUROPE
Singles/7” : £10 Royal Mail Signed and Tracked
LPs and 10”: £13 for up to 2kg and less than £500 – Royal Mail Signed and Tracked
For Packages above 2kg (6 plus records) – £18.75 up to 10kg.
WORLD ZONE 1
United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, India, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Israel, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Vietnam.
Singles/LPs/10”: £15.00 up to 1.5kg and less than £500 – Royal Mail Signed and Tracked
Singles/LPs/10”: £20 over 1.5kg and less than 2kg and less than £500 – Royal Mail Signed and Tracked
For Packages above 2kg (6 plus records) – £35 up to 10kg.
WORLD ZONE 2
Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Fiji.
Singles/LPs/10”: £18.00 up to 1.5kg and less than £500 – Royal Mail Signed and Tracked
Singles/LPs/10”: £24.00 over 1.5kg and less than 2kg and less than £500 – Royal Mail Signed and Tracked
For Packages above 2kg (6 plus records) – £43 up to 10kg.
All customers are responsible for paying the necessary customs1 fees charged. We will not be able to under declare the value of any order for customs as it is unlawful to do so.
RETURNS AND CANCELLATION POLICY
At Record Plant, we are committed to ensuring your satisfaction with every purchase you make. We understand that circumstances may change, and you might need to cancel an order or return a product. Our Returns and Cancellation Policy is designed to provide you with clear guidelines and information on your rights and responsibilities when it comes to cancelling orders and returning goods under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the key points outlined below.
RIGHT TO CANCEL
Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, you have the right to cancel your order for goods. This right begins the moment you place your order and lasts for 14 days from the day you receive the goods.
CANCELLATION DEADLINE
To meet the cancellation deadline, kindly notify us of your decision to cancel your order before the 14-day cancellation period expires. You can contact us via email or phone to initiate the cancellation process.
RETURNING GOODS
If you decide to cancel your order, you are responsible for taking reasonable care of the goods while they are in your possession. To complete the return process, send the goods back to our contact address at your own expense. Exceptions apply if we delivered the item in error, or if the item is damaged or defective.
COST OF RECOVERY
In case the returned goods are not received within the specified conditions, we reserve the right to charge you for the direct costs incurred in recovering the goods.
REFUNDS
Once you have notified us of your decision to cancel the order, any payments made will be promptly refunded to you. You can expect the refund to be processed within 14 days of your cancellation.
ITEMS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR CANCELLATION OR RETURN
Certain goods and services are exempt from the right to cancel, including prescription medicines, personalized goods, rapidly perishable items, and more. Please refer to our policy for a comprehensive list of non-cancelable and non-returnable items.
FORFEITURE OF CANCELLATION RIGHT
Your right to cancel may be forfeited if you unseal goods that are not suitable for return due to hygiene or health reasons, unseal sealed audio/video recordings or software, or combine goods with other items to make them inseparable.
At Record Plant, we value your satisfaction and aim to make your shopping experience as smooth as possible. Our Returns and Cancellation Policy ensures transparency and fairness in all interactions. If you have any questions or concerns about cancelling an order or returning goods, our dedicated customer service team is here to assist you.
Please note that specific regulations and details may vary based on your location and the applicable laws. For a detailed understanding of our policy and your rights, we recommend reviewing our complete Returns and Cancellation Policy or contacting our customer service representatives.
