Fontaines D.C.
In November, they will mark their return to Germany with a sold-out show at Berlin’s Max-Schmeling-Halle and the release of their fifth studio album, *Dopamine Chamber*. Following the announcement of three dates in Hamburg, Munich and Berlin for August 2027, concerts in Dresden and Düsseldorf have now also been added to the schedule.
The story of Fontaines D.C. begins in the mid-2010s in Dublin, where singer Grian Chatten, guitarists Carlos O’Donnell and Conor Curly, bassist Conor Deegan and drummer Tom Coll met whilst studying music. For a punk band, they had a rather unusual start: all five shared a passion for poetry and initially published two collections of poems. This love of language was evident from the outset and continues to shape their songwriting to this day. On their first two critically acclaimed albums, *Dogrel* (2019) and *A Hero’s Death* (2020), they explored their own Irish identity within a dark, introspective post-punk world. Ireland continued to play a defining role on *Skinty Fia* (2022) as well, though the sound was gradually transformed by the incorporation of electronic elements, thereby reaching an ever-growing audience. With “Romance” (2024), they consistently took this development further: the band opened up their characteristic sound to alternative rock, synthesiser textures and 90s aesthetics, thereby quite rightly establishing themselves as global rock stars. Fontaines D.C. found a wide following beyond the post-punk scene, particularly with the single “Starburster”. High chart positions, two Grammy nominations (including in the ‘Best Rock Album’ category) and platinum status in the UK marked their definitive international breakthrough.
Their success shows no sign of abating. Whether it’s Rolling Stone, NME, Pitchfork or The Independent: their eagerly awaited fifth album, “Dopamine Chamber”, was recently released and the reviews are raving. Like its predecessor, it was produced by James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode), but Fontaines D.C. deliberately sought to break away from their previous sound. The guitars that had previously defined their style take a back seat, whilst cold synthesisers and electronic elements set the tone. With “Where Is Gone?”, they also present the first collaboration in their discography, for which they’ve brought none other than Rosalía on board. Thematically, the album centres primarily on the question of where we can flee to in an increasingly fragmented and unbalanced world. Whilst ‘Romance’ still sought human warmth amidst alienation, the band now deliberately gazes into the abyss and, with ‘Dopamine Chamber’, creates a place where reality is distorted.
Fontaines D.C.’s concerts are sweat-inducing, high-energy experiences, the intensity of which remains undiminished even as they play in ever-larger venues. Having tested their new material this summer at their first intimate gigs as well as headline slots at the Reading & Leeds Festival, they have now kicked off their major European tour. As part of this, they will not only be stopping off in Berlin in November, but will follow this up in August 2027 with further concerts in Hamburg, Dresden, Munich, Berlin and Düsseldorf. (Source: FKP Scorpio)