Fontaines D.C. – Tongue

Fontaines D.C. have built their reputation on restless reinvention, and “Tongue,” the second single from their upcoming fifth album Dopamine Chamber, pushes that instinct somewhere genuinely unsettling, a slow, churning track that trades the band’s usual guitar-forward attack for something closer to trip-hop dread.

The song made its live debut at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre in late September, days after the band revealed Dopamine Chamber’s full tracklist, and fans in the room reportedly reached immediately for comparisons to Korn, a band Fontaines have admitted to admiring before. That nu-metal undertone comes through most clearly in the rhythm section: bassist Conor Deegan manipulated tape speed to slow and distort his bassline into something heavy and slouching, while guitarist Carlos O’Connell ran frontman Grian Chatten’s vocals through a sampler, pitching them up until it sounds like Chatten is duetting with a warped, transmission-garbled version of himself, a studio trick with roots in Prince and the Smiths’ catalogues.

Lyrically, the song centers on a relationship defined by someone whose words cut deep enough to genuinely wound, framed with the same addictive, self-destructive pull the band has explored before, just rendered colder and more clinical this time around. Guitarist Conor Curley has said the band picked up directly where 2024’s Romance left off, deliberately holding back the live-band instrumentation until the track specifically called for it, which gives “Tongue” its eerie, half-processed quality.

The accompanying John Angus Stewart video swaps Dublin for New York City, all blue-lit close-ups and disorienting footage shot over one of the city’s bridges, matching the song’s cold, radioactive tone. It arrives as the second taste of an album that also features the band’s first-ever guest collaborator, Rosalía, on the track “Where Is Gone?”

MusicPorta says: Fontaines D.C. sound genuinely dangerous on “Tongue,” letting studio manipulation and a creeping rhythm section do work their guitars usually handle. It’s a bold, disorienting preview that suggests Dopamine Chamber won’t play it safe.

MusicPorta Rating: ★★★★★

“Tongue” is an exciting track with captivating energy, impressive delivery, and a memorable sound. Make sure you listen to this impressive song and add it to your playlist today.

“Tongue” By “Fontaines D.C.” BELOW

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