Fontaines D.C. have previewed their forthcoming single ‘Marianne’ and confirmed that their fifth studio album is on the way.
The Dublin band shared a 30-second snippet of the song on YouTube earlier today (August 14), continuing the fraught, industrial energy that was first heard when they debuted the track live in Cádiz last weekend.
Over a frenetic rhythm and sweeping strings, Grian Chatten sings: “This year, you should come and stay here / You can follow my lead, I can help you disappear / Cinematic feeling, understand this is your life / You can go on dreaming, you can go under the knife / Marianne, this could be your fatal match“.
Watch the preview here:
In a separate Instagram post, the band shared a new photograph of the five-piece taken by Elizaveta Porodina, with a caption simply reading: “5.” As 2024’s ‘Romance‘ was their fourth studio record, the message appears to confirm that its follow-up is well on its way.
It comes just days after Fontaines premiered ‘Marianne’ and another unreleased song ‘Six Shot Morning’ during their first full headline show of the year in Spain last Saturday (August 8).
With ‘Marianne’ suggesting a heavier sound, ‘Six Shot Morning’ laid out a spacey, synth-led aesthetic. Check out footage of both here.
The band have spoken about working on their fifth album for some time. Talking to NME in February last year, bassist Conor Deegan III said: “It’s one of those things where we can’t stop writing – it’s something that we just do when we’re with each other.”
Guitarist Carlos O’Connell offered another update in January, telling NME: “We’ve been writing, it’s been fun. We’re at Reading & Leeds and there are a couple of shows before that. I think if the music is there, it could get busy.”
Asked about whether they might play new material at the festivals, he replied: “I’d say so. If there is stuff written, then I would say so, yeah. That’s what we used to do all the time, play the new stuff life – songs that weren’t even finished. It’s a good way to test the songs.”
Fontaines will play a few shows around Europe – in France, Switzerland and Austria – in the coming days, before topping the bill at Reading & Leeds at the end of the month. They then return home to headline Electric Picnic in Ireland on August 30.
Their return to the stage followed the death of their manager Trevor Dietz, who they described as “the sixth member of the band”. Their first performance since his passing was at the BBC’s final live session at Maida Vale earlier this month.
They released the standalone single ‘It’s Amazing To Be Young’ in February, covered Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘Black Boys On Mopeds’ for War Child’s ‘Help(2)’ album and contributed to the soundtrack for Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
