During the writing process, the band made a conscious decision to continue the alternative rock sound of Romance, with lead vocalist and lyricist Grian Chatten noting: "One of the fundamental questions I felt like asking myself was, do we want to forget about Romance and kind of reinvent ourselves a little bit? Do like a rootsy album, take another left turn, or do we want to continue to pursue whatever this was with Romance? It felt like we had more to say in that area musically." Guitarist Carlos O'Connell elaborated: "I think [that album] was so intense in every [way]... the visuals, the production, the setlist. It wasn’t just about the music. It’s almost a bit of the identity of the band now, but I guess that’s the decision to make. Chatten wrote the lyrics to Dopamine Chamber while travelling in Vienna and Venice, describing the process as a "very short, compressed writing trip."
The band recorded the majority of the album at Decoy Studios in Suffolk with producer James Ford, who had worked with them on Romance. After the band members had recorded the music to each song, frontman Grian Chatten subsequently recorded his vocals separately with Ford at a house in Palermo, Sicily. The pair used a makeshift vocal booth created out of mattresses and cushions: "It was like two young lads having a sleepover and building a fort. It was a lot of fun making all the music surrounded by equipment at Decoy Studios in Suffolk and then doing all the vocals with kind of nothing. Palermo is such a lively place. You're surrounded by a sense of oldness that commands a certain reverence."
Fontaines D.C. have experienced a remarkable rise in popularity over the past two years. Considered now as the biggest Irish act since The Cranberries, the band has proven itself worthy of the crown with its new record Dopamine Chamber embracing a gothic, moody sound and adds a synthy, sonic twist.
Dopamine Chamber continues in the direction the band went with the ultra-successful Romance although the sound is quite differente despite sharing similar lyrics, intense, bass-heavy melodies, and steady synths as Romance, Dopamine Chamber somehow feels more mature as the band's newfound confidence. The album has a dark felling, it has some ballads, some classic post-punk rock songs, and some intense, sensual dance tracks.
The opening track, "Six Shot Morning," falls into the third category, with resonant synths and a melody driven by the pounding rhythm. The next two tracks, "Marianne" and "Mimesis," have a similar synth-pop quality but with nice beats, electronic production, and dreamy vocals blend modern dance music with the melancholic gloom of goth punk, now the album goes into a post-punk style with "Happy For You" its opening riffs are jangly and almost psychedelic, reminiscent of Slowdive or The Stone Roses with dramatic lyrics and intense guitar parts.
The next track, "Demolition," combines band's post-punk influences with dance-pop, the result a rhythm-driven rock tune, "Tongue" is nice despite its repetitive melody is driven by the beat, imbuing the lyrics with the gravity of spoken word with an intense blend of electronic music and rock, which makes for an exciting and intense listening experience. "Where Is Gone?" now signals a shift in the album while still maintaining the tone. Now the song features the Spaniard pop singer Rosalía, she and Chatten sing the song as a duet, and their sultry, emotional vocals complement each other well.
"Where Is Gone?" combines a Spanish guitar with Fontaines D.C.'s recognizable production style and dramatic poetic lyricism, making for a beautiful and dramatic ballad. "Japan" is a remarkable tune on the album, with a contemporary pop sound, a bright rhythmic guitar with a steady drumbeat to support Chatten's melodic vocals. The synthesizers and the subdued electric guitar riffs, paired with the sensitive lyrics, help build a dreamy, gentle sound. The final song of the album, "Intimate," comes back to the intense, electronic tone of the first tracks, you know steady drums, layered synths, and mellow guitar riffs, along with Chatten's vocals, contribute to the desperate, emotional tone of the song.
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