Fontaines D.C.: "Our songs never have the answer to the anguish"

Downtown Los Angeles, as Conor Curley acknowledges, isn’t the most obvious destination for an artist in search of inspiration.

But it was while holed up alone in a hotel room there – surrounded by the stark contrasts of “insanely fancy bars and insane homelessness”, as similarly dystopian images flashed across his screen in films like Blade Runner – that the guitarist found himself crafting sounds that both reflected his strange surroundings, and pointed to an unknown, yet unmistakably sinister future. Although he couldn’t have known it then, they were ideas and feelings that would eventually come to life within the “dark, twisted” world of Fontaines D.C.’s new album, Dopamine Chamber.

During breaks in their busy touring schedule, Curley’s bandmates were doing plenty of travelling and exploration of their own – with vocalist Grian Chatten particularly inspired by the crumbling beauty of Venice, and the pulsing energy of Palermo, as he and the rest of the group considered their crucial next steps following the global success of their fourth studio album, 2024’s Romance.

As well as winning the Choice Prize for Irish Album of the Year, that project – their first since signing to XL Recordings, and their first with high-profile producer James Ford – saw the Dublin-formed five-piece take a major leap forward on the international stage. In the UK, Romance doubled the first-week sales of its predecessor, Skinty Fia, and led Fontaines to their second BRIT Award for International Group – making them only the fourth act to have received the honour more than once, alongside U2, Foo Fighters and REM. It secured them two Grammy nominations, too: for Best Rock Album, and, for lead single ‘Starburster’, Best Alternative Music Performance.

Stylistically, it also marked the beginning of an important new chapter for the group – also made up of Carlos O’Connell, Tom Coll and Conor ‘Deego’ Deegan III. Although Skinty Fia found them moving in an intriguing new direction, away from the plucky post-punk emphasis of 2019’s Dogrel and 2020’s A Hero’s Death, there was no denying that Romance was their most adventurous release yet – zooming out from their ruminations on Irish identity, to explore a fantastical, futuristic universe of their own creation.

As a band with a reputation for raising the bar with each release, however, it wasn’t long before the conversation shifted to how Fontaines would follow on from there – questions that were finally answered in mid-August, with the release of ‘Marianne’, as the lead single from their fifth album, Dopamine Chamber.

With ‘Marianne’, Fontaines D.C. have proven that their momentum is only continuing to build, with the release scoring a whole bundle of new career-bests – as their highest charting UK single to date, and their first single to spend multiple weeks in the UK’s Top 40.

Back home in Ireland, fans got a chance to hear the new track live less than two weeks after its release, at Fontaines’ headline set at Electric Picnic 2026.

“I had a load of family there,” Curley smiles. “With shows like that it can feel a bit hectic, but Electric Picnic was amazing. I feel like we started at the bottom rung of that festival – so it was kind of surreal to end up headlining it.”

Signifying just how far they’ve come since those early, pre-Dogrel EP performances, their Sunday night set concluded with two words displayed across the massive Main Stage screens: Slane Castle. The official announcement came the following day – with one 80,000-capacity Slane show (now sold-out) soon becoming two, due to the demand. Not long after, Fontaines announced their biggest UK headline gigs to date, including a show at London Stadium.

But these past few months have been momentous, and emotional, for the band for other reasons too. Their Electric Picnic set was not only their first Irish performance in a year, but also their first show back home since the tragic death of Trevor Dietz, their long-time manager, on June 7.

In a tribute shared online, they described Trevor – a beloved figure on the Irish music scene – as “the sixth member of the band,” who had been there from the beginning of their journey. They’ve honoured his memory in their live shows ever since – with the words ‘Trevor Forever’ emblazoned down the side of Carlos’s Fender Stratocaster, and ‘Trev’ tattooed prominently on Grian’s right hand.

As Deego reflected around the release of the single, ‘Marianne’ “is a song that never would have seen the light of day if it wasn’t for Trev.”

“It was left on the cutting room floor of the 40 songs we wrote for Dopamine Chamber,” the bassist revealed on social media. “We were at his in Brighton one evening showing him all the songs, and he said ‘yere absolute lunatics’ for wanting to leave this song off the album. So we brought it back…

“An album that suddenly feels more fitting to our lives than we thought it would be when writing it,” he concluded. “This album is dedicated to Trev, all he gave us, all he taught us. Love you forever…”

Trevor Dietz (Fontaines DC Manager) at Ireland Music Week 2019 in Lost Lane. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

From opening track ‘Six Shot Morning’, it’s immediately clear that Dopamine Chamber is a bold expansion of the world we were introduced to on Romance – with the band deliberately leaning into a sound that’s more synthetic, and less immediately human.

“We were stepping into a newer territory with Romance, in terms of starting to use keyboards and stuff like that,” Curley reflects – speaking from New York, where the band have been spending a couple of days ahead of a run of US festival dates and intimate shows.

“So that blueprint had been set, a little bit, for this one,” he resumes. “We had figured out how to work – building tracks in the control room, and not just playing them live. And we built on that.”

The band knew they wanted to incorporate those electronic elements even more extensively this time round. While Curley drew inspiration from bedroom producers – and “amazing” DIY-minded artists like “RIP Swirl, untitled (halo), Double Virgo, and james K” – himself, Carlos, and Tom were also continuing to dig into a vast array of influences as the FDC DJs.

“Honestly, it’s one of my favourite things to do – to DJ after gigs,” says Curley. “And while doing that during the Romance tour – going to another place and just playing music for people – these conversations would open up: ‘Oh, this track has these drums like this…’ You’re already set up in an artistic kind of mindspace, from playing the gig.”

Initially formed for after-parties and special events, last year saw the FDC DJs release official remixes under the moniker for both Wet Leg and English Teacher – and support Fred again.., one of the biggest forces in modern electronic music, at his massive pop-up show at the RDS in Dublin.

“I honestly don’t think I’ve ever felt as much imposter syndrome as I did with that gig,” Curley laughs. “It was insane – even to see what he does a bit more up-close, and the mastery of his side of things. That whole concept of that USB tour is incredible. No one else could really do that. His work ethic, and everything that he does, is really remarkable.”

FDC DJ set at the RDS. Credit: Theo Batterham

With Fontaines D.C. seeing their own headline shows move up from arenas to stadiums, has that informed the writing – in terms of wanting to make bigger, more expansive music?

“It probably has,” Curley acknowledges. “I can’t think of it being in the forefront of our minds when we’re making it, but for any artists consistently playing a bigger show, you notice things in the songs you already have that click with a bigger audience. And you can’t help but almost download those sorts of tricks.

“Even our song ‘Big Shot’ [from Skinty Fia],” he continues. “That’s really developed as a live song. It’s become quite different to how the recorded version sounded, and I think that’s because of its journey through playing those bigger and bigger shows.”

For both Romance and Dopamine Chamber, producer James Ford has been crucial in bringing Fontaines’ ever-expanding vision to life.

“He has such an incredible ear, for electronic music especially,” Curley says of Ford. “I feel like he was in a really playful place. He was really enjoying the process of figuring out how to do these sounds.”

Since working on Romance, however, Ford has spoken openly about his health struggles –  with the producer having been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, after becoming seriously ill in December 2024. He still managed to produce this year’s star-studded War Child album, HELP(2) – which featured Fontaines D.C., alongside the likes of Olivia Rodrigo and Arctic Monkeys – remotely, from his hospital bed, while undergoing treatment.

“There was a period of time where it wasn’t looking like he was going to be able to do the record,” Curley says Ford's work on Dopamine Chamber. “But in fairness to him, he’s such a strong person – and whenever the timings worked out, and he was able to, he’d go to the studio. He really wasn’t taking anything for granted. That’s what he’s on this earth to do – make records, and be involved in music.”

Most of Dopamine Chamber – which they’ve described as their most collaborative album yet – was written in the dark, wintery days of early 2025, with Curley recalling that it seemed to be “pissing rain every day.” But when they eventually got around to completing the record, with residential sessions in the English countryside, the sun broke through.

“It seemed like there was a lightness to the recording sessions then,” he reflects. “We had a Gaelic football, so we’d be outside kicking the ball around.”

Credit: Ewen Spencer

Still, there’s no denying that the world Fontaines have captured on Dopamine Chamber is a much more menacing one than that of Romance.

As Grian said around the new album’s announcement, if Romance was “60 per cent human and 40 per cent corrupted by automation, and a loss of feeling,” then Dopamine Chamber “feels more like 60 per cent corrupted – the mask is wearing the face a little more.”

“A lot of the world of Fontaines now exists on this online thing,” Curley says of the inspiration behind those themes. “It’s such a negative thing to interact with – to keep up with what your ‘online thing’ is doing as a band.

“People want to be in the position where they can be like, ‘Oh, I never use my phone from this time to this time’, or whatever,” he adds. “It’s like we have these accepted addictions.”

To Curley, the ‘dopamine chamber’ represents “a forced addiction, or a forced sort of place.”

“It’s getting into the realm of taking away free will – but through spikes in pleasure,” he resumes. “It’s a dark, twisted kind of place.”

How’s Curley’s own relationship with his screen?

“I go through phases,” he says. “We’re kind of in that generation though, where we saw all the stuff come around. I didn’t grow up in that way, with an iPad or that kind of thing – my childhood was mainly just outside, playing hurling and stuff.”

As for artificial intelligence, he feels like “any proper band could never think of it – because why would you?”

“The idea of people using it as some sort of cheat code… I don’t think it has the ability, really, to make up for human creativity. So I think we’re safe enough, in that realm. If anyone was using it, I feel it wouldn’t really be the maker of something that was actually any good.”

Fontaines D.C. are clearly not short of human inspiration anyway. The gritty, genre-splicing ‘Tongue’ marks a bold departure for the band – which Curley credits to “listening to a lot more Kendrick Lamar, and more hip-hop backstage.”

After the intensity of that track, and the run of songs before it, the tender mid-album pairing of ‘One Man’ and ‘Where Is Gone?’ feels almost like taking a breath – as if something organic has infiltrated the album’s largely synthetic world.

“With us, I feel there always has to be a kind of a reset,” the guitarist considers. “I think our records always go like that. By having that lighter, acoustic stuff, it lets you push the darker stuff darker.”

In a stunning collaboration – which sparked serious excitement online, following the tracklist announcement – ‘Where Is Gone?’ finds Grian sharing vocals with Catalan star Rosalía.

“Her voice is incredible,” Curley enthuses. “It blew my mind that she was up for jumping on that track. I always think the whole duet thing gives such a beautiful narrative to songs anyway. I’m really happy with how that turned out.”

Of course, despite the beauty, the darkness is never far away – with the characters right across Dopamine Chamber contending with feelings of emptiness, loneliness, insecurity and depression.

“I feel like our songs never have the answer to the anguish,” Curley notes. “There’s never really a declaration of what to do, in any of our music. It’s always just examples of pain and isolation or something like that – so that people can feel it as well. And that’s the thing, I think, that people have connected with.”

It’s similar when it comes to their politics. Although they have continued their outspoken advocacy for Palestine over the past few years – both during their gigs and off-stage – and have taken a strong stand against the far-right, in their music, Fontaines offer a unique lens through which to view our warped world, rather than packing their lyrics with direct political statements.

But it’s clear the forces they’ve come up against in their support for Palestine have informed their latest album.

“It’s this idea of an invisible upper-class that, even when society seems to stand up for things, has the ability to push things down,” Curley nods. “That’s a big theme on the record – trying to unmask that invisible force in the world that seems to be able to stop things that seem like common sense from happening.”

Which is particularly relevant at the time of our conversation, in the wake of Macklemore’s removal from the Ed Sheeran tour – largely due to pressure from powerful stadium owners like billionaire Robert Kraft – following the rapper’s pro-Palestinian remarks.

“That’s one of the biggest things that’s happened in this cause, in ages,” says Curley. “I couldn’t be more proud. Macklemore is incredible for what he did there – and the other artists now supporting him. He spoke so eloquently. For that to happen in the pop world, on the biggest stage – that’s a ripple…”

The guitarist also acknowledges that it was “amazing” to see images of another inspiring activist, Greta Thunberg, sporting one of Fontaines’ iconic jersey collaborations with Bohemian FC, while sailing towards Gaza on a Freedom Flotilla Coalition mission last year. Sales of that jersey, which launched in December 2024, have raised over €200,000 for Medical Aid for Palestinians.

“I was fortunate enough to meet her a couple of times,” Curley says of Greta. “She’s sound! And obviously she does incredible work and is tireless in her endeavours. She should be valued as an incredible fighter for justice.”

She’s known to enjoy the Irish craic as well – from attending Féile an Phobail in a KNEECAP balaclava this summer, to heading off on nights-out with Fontaines and SPRINTS.

“It was definitely a mad moment – being at a bar with her somewhere in Europe,” Curley laughs. “All of us there with her, and SPRINTS as well – just being like, ‘This is a crazy little get-together we’ve got going on here…’”

Greta Thunberg (left) and Caoimhe Butterly (right) on board a ship sailing to Gaza

Speaking of unexpected get-togethers, how did Curley, as a Monaghan man, feel about Fontaines D.C. being celebrated as a proud Mayo band at Electric Picnic – as Deego and Tom joined The Saw Doctors and the All-Ireland-winning football team on the Main Stage for ‘The Green And Red Of Mayo’?

“I let them have it this year!” he laughs. “Honestly, I was delighted for the lads, watching that final – they actually did it. For all the years I’ve known Deego and Tom, and the amount of finals I’ve seen them lose, I’m delighted that they just got over the line with this one.

“Sure next year we’ll see what happens. Hopefully Monaghan can build on what they did last season!”

Curley clearly hasn’t strayed far from his own roots – having played a set at the relatively intimate Harvest Times Blues Festival back home in Monaghan last year.

“I’ve been going to the Blues Festival my whole teenage life – going around to gigs in all the bars in Monaghan,” he recalls. “It was quite a formative thing for me, growing up, to see all that. They’d have amazing musicians from America come over.

“But a friend of mine took the helm of organising it last year, and she was like, ‘It would be amazing if you could do something…’” he continues. “I used to play in blues bands in my local, when they’d have a jam night or whatever – so I was like, ‘Sure, I’ll just put together a band to play.’”

 

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He found, however, that the hometown set marked a bit of “a turning point – where suddenly you had a lot of people coming up and asking for photographs and stuff.”

“That never really happened in Monaghan,” he says. “They’d normally just be like, ‘Oh, you’re still at the music…?’

“But it was incredible to do,” he adds. “I would recommend it to anyone in Ireland – if you want a bluesy weekend, go to Monaghan!”

Although he’s set up with a studio in Brighton these days, Curley admits that he’s been finding himself missing Ireland “a lot.”

“I’m trying to get back more and more now,” he tells me. “It feels like a lot more of a grounding place, for the aul head.”

He’s also been reconnecting with the Irish language – and even served as an ambassador for Seachtain na Gaeilge 2026.

“I was approached by some people to do it, and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m the person to do this!’” he tells me. “But then I thought it’d be a nice excuse to go back to Ireland, and meet some new people in that world. It’s something that I want to keep in my life more and more as I get older.”

Credit: Charlie Barclay Harris

His progress on that front will likely stall slightly, with Fontaines’ major run of tour dates this autumn and throughout 2027. What was Curley’s response, when Slane Castle was first floated as an idea?

“It just seemed like an inside joke we were having with each other: ‘Oh yeah, we’ll try and sell out Slane,’” he recalls. “I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s gas!’”

“It’s such an incredible venue, for more reasons than just its size,” he adds. “Even its location in Meath – it really feels like it has this ability to gather people from the four corners of the country, for a gig.  And also, being only the third Irish band to play it… A lot of goosebumps and emotions with that.”

He’s also excited to see Damien Dempsey make his Slane debut, as one of Fontaines’ special guests.

“I cannot wait for that,” Curley enthuses. “His voice is going to fill up the hills. It’s going to be amazing.”

Those massive summer gigs are a testament to how much Fontaines’ fanbase has swelled over the past few years – as are the sudden appearance of bizarrely-named tribute bands, like Fontaines C.D.

“That’s insane – I didn’t think there would ever be that kind of craic going on,” he smiles. “But more power to them!”

But even with that growing popularity and platform, Fontaines have made it clear, with Dopamine Chamber, that their dedication to pushing the envelope, and making crucial leaps forward with each release, remains intact. As for where they’ll go from here, Curley notes that there are “conversations to be had.”

“I mean, I’d love for it to get more alternative, and more intense, and to make the whole thing smaller,” he reveals. “But maybe that’s just my Irishness, I don’t know…”

Smaller in what sense?

“Less people caring about it!” he laughs.

Fontaines D.C. at Electric Picnic on August 30, 2026. Copyright Liam Murphy/hotpress.com

Five albums in – and with all band members still in their early thirties – does Curley imagine the pace will continue the way it has, or could longer breaks between projects be on the cards?

“I feel like every time we say that we’re going to take a break, we end up finding that the devil makes work for idle hands,” he says. “And we love to just be making tunes. It gives us our sort of sense of place in the world.

“So I don’t know. Maybe reprising different sorts of projects – I’m not saying solo albums or whatever, but just different kinds of projects. To keep active in that way, and let the Fontaines thing just rest for a little bit, maybe.”

From producing other acts and working on soundtracks, to launching new record labels (as Tom recently did with Inis Records), those individual adventures, Curley feels, ultimately make Fontaines stronger as a group.

“That’s part of the clockwork of how we operate – even just showing each other stuff that we’re hyped on,” he says. “It’s similar to how we used to talk about music when we were young – everyone in this sort of exploration mindset.”

For now, the focus is squarely on Fontaines D.C. once again – with Curley telling me that he’s “really enjoying playing live again.”

“There’s such an amazing variety in our set now – from Dogrel stuff to Dopamine Chamber tunes – that it’s just enjoyable to play,” he says. “And I like being on the road. I feel it’s always good for my head to be looking around new places.

“Even being in America now,” he adds. “I’ve spent loads of time here over the years, but over the past couple of days, I’ve got the Staten Island Ferry, and I’ve done a lot more walking around on my own. It’s been really nice.

“I was actually walking around Manhattan yesterday, and I went into a random deli to get a sandwich. And as I walked in, a lad walked out – wearing a Bohs’ Fontaines jersey. That was pretty surreal!”

• Dopamine Chamber is out now. Fontaines D.C. play Slane Castle, Co. Meath on June 26 & 27, 2027.