Fontaines D.C.’s newest single ‘Where is Gone?’ released on October 12th, has given fans an exciting peak into their new album Dopamine Chamber.
The single spends its first weekend in the charts at Number 24 on Spotify’s Top 50 UK playlist and currently peaks on the Official Singles Chart Top 100 at Number 57.
‘Where is Gone?’ is a stirring release for both Fontaines and their fans, with the single being the Irish rock band’s first ever collaboration to feature on a studio album. And, of course, the collaborator is none other than ROSALÍA.
In conversation with Rolling Stone, Carlos O’Connell, the band’s guitarist, suggested that they chose Rosalía as a collaborator based on her commitment to Spanish music, “What really excited me was how she was keeping a Spanish tradition of music alive, which in a spiritual way felt akin to what we’ve tried to do with Irish music”. Rosalía proves the perfect match for Fontaines’ lead singer Grian Chatten as they together share the beautifully melancholic weight of ‘Where is Gone?’.
There is a real aching quality to ‘Where is Gone?’ that fans might find reminiscent of ‘In the Modern World’, from Fontaines’ last smash-hit album Romance. The blend of Chatten and Rosalía’s vocals almost feels mournful, moving its listeners into a state of reflection.
Speaking also to Rolling Stone, Chatten says that for Dopamine Chamber, “I felt it would be more powerful to leave the hope out and reflect the ugliness honestly”; and that is exactly what ‘Where is Gone?’ encapsulates.
The song somehow refuses to fully satisfy – with the refrain “There’s no harm in saying, “Leave it, let it die”” – there is a real sense of incompleteness that leaves listeners with a feeling of emptiness, craving the resolution or catharsis that is typical of song. Essentially, the album seems to successfully mimic the dopamine chamber of which it is speaking. Another very clever triumph for Fontaines!
