A botched presale highlighting just how popular Fontaines D.C. are at the moment was preceded by the release of Marianne. The Dopamine Chamber lead single sets the scene for a band not wanting to drift too far away from Romance. Why would they? The Griann Chatten-fronted band landed on a particular and promising sound, and it’s far from finished. A band whose presale queue is the capacity of Wembley Stadium can release whatever they want. If the new songs don’t take, you have one of the best albums of the decade to fall back on, and before that, another all-timer. Marianne, then, can be a misfire if necessary, but it wouldn’t be a great look for the band to follow up their most popular release to date with a bit of a dud. That’s always the risk run by those who are shot into stardom off the back of a strong album. Fontaines D.C. appears ready to handle the momentum that comes with being at the forefront of their genre.
They’re a best-in-class outfit, and Marianne is a solid next step. A little too close to the style of Favourite to warrant being the lead single of a whole new album, but Fontaines D.C. hit on a sound that worked for them and, understandably, don’t want to give that up just yet. Marianne is a song of longing, not just for another person but for them to experience what you have experienced. It doesn’t have a breakout moment to it. Not with the instrumental style, predictable and a little contained, or the vocals Chatten offers, which is a little too closely tied to that breathless discovery of new experiences and a desire to share them with another. That message lingered well on the likes of Romance and Favourite, where the band were building up a world for their album concurrently with that discovery. But now they’ve discovered it and are still writing about it all. That changes how Chatten and the band perceive the people they pull into these songs.
Already established are the darker tones and that synth-adjacent sound. What Marianne does though is builds a stylish next step for the band. It may sound similar but it’s strong work all the same. Fontaines D.C. does well, in the long run, to not change all that much. That would’ve been a somewhat fatal error for the band. What they have on their hands here is what they had with Starburster and Here’s the Thing, a song that won’t be the high point but will grow into a solid piece of work. It just needs a little more breathing room. Chatten’s writing is still sharp, lingering in the background is his little-known Chaos for the Fly release, and he can paint a vivid image of life on the fringes still. There’s a malaise that affects the characters found in Marianne, not the song itself. Half-baked plans, false promises of staying and helping when everyone involved knows it won’t happen.
Marianne will grow over time into a setlist staple for Fontaines D.C., not least because it taps into their gothic rock and synth interests a little bit more. Dopamine Chamber seems an ironic title given the slower tempo; the decisions made throughout the song by characters Chatten has no doubt observed seem far from providing a hit of happiness. Marianne becomes a song of indifference but is itself a passionate display of working your way through the world, moving on, and healing as you go. A powerful piece of work but there’s a chance it’ll be lost in the flood of Slane Castle headline show announcements, the inevitably high and impossible-to-reach expectations of a post-Romance album, and the stratospheric pressure put on those who barely know the band. Marianne is a solid effort and, like the singles from Romance, will grow into a memorable staple.
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