Fontaines D.C.s Grian Chatten is all about dystopia, but says AI is 'rendering our souls obsolete'

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Set us as preferred It’s the third afternoon in another string of sweltering days in Los Angeles.A recent Friday offers no salvation for the weekend ahead besides sitting in front of a fan or turning up the air conditioning.Thankfully, standing inside the climate-controlled walls of the Line hotel’s lobby and behind a cup of joe from its Alfred Coffee, there’s a smidgen of comfort.The bell to the ground floor elevator rings and out steps a tall figure, wearing an all-black ensemble.

His shorts hang just below his knees, his hair is a bit messy and his boots climb up his calf.Grian Chatten looks remarkably cool for someone who’s just rolled out of bed, even more so for someone who has a performance at Hollywood Forever Cemetery later that night.He’s the leading man behind Fontaines D.C., a Dublin-born rock quintet that’s become one of the most exciting acts to grace a stage today.And how couldn’t they be?Their 2019 debut, “Dogrel,” was met with critical acclaim, a masterful album with references to James Joyce and a teeming garage-style production.

Fast-forward five years later and their fourth effort, “Romance,” became their first to chart in the United States, reaching No.97 on the Billboard 200.Nowadays, they’re kicking up dust again with the release of “Dopamine Chamber,” which came out last Friday via XL Recordings.

Its a continuation of the precedent they’ve set in terms of lyrical and sonic quality, but simultaneously is far more melancholic and synthesized than their previous work.However, its rollout was rocky as the debut music video “Marianne” was criticized for its use of artificial intelligence.When the psychedelic, entrancing recording first hit YouTube, it listed a credit for AI “artists” in its description, sounding alarms among the band’s loyal fan base.After all,...