Ever since I heard “Hurricane Laughter” on Fontaines D.C.’s debut album, Dogrel, I was hooked. It was viscous, discordant, angry, angsty; the kind of post-punk that scratches the right itch. Skinty Fia was the peak for me. Still is. Since then, the band has been going through an evolution between each album, never really sticking with one vibe no matter how commerically accesible or successful it is. While Romance wasn’t my favourite album by them, it was easily their most popular, so I was really expecting a Romance II with this new one, Dopamine Chamber, but once again, the boys from the better land have metamorphosed—and created a murky, moody concoction of post-punky synthgaze.
It’s really an album that needs to be listened to front to back to really feel yourself in this chamber, pushed by Grian Chatten’s poetic ramblings, watery and fuzzy guitar, synth flourishes, and, in the case of “Mimesis,” thick bass grooves. The song order is also well thought out, with tracks moving between themes of isolation, lost love, disillusionment, and whatever may be on Chatten’s mind.
“Demolition” is probably my constant revisit on this album; I love the stadium rock vibe, mixed with heavy 808s and ’80s synths, under a wall of distorted guitars. “Where is Gone?” featuring ROSALÍA is also a gorgeous duet, reminding me more of the dark folk vibe we got on Chatten’s solo album, Chaos For The Fly, but with more of a gothic western vibe. Chatten and ROSALÍA’s harmonies are gorgeous when they hit; it really sounds like Fontaines D.C. were going for a huge Bond soundtrack song, and they nailed it.
There are some duds on Dopamine Chamber with the lingering “One Man,” parts of “Japan,” and “Intimate.” Still, this Dopamine Chamber has tracks that will probably grow on me later on, and I can’t wait for the next evolution.
