Grian Chatten Plans a More Festival-Ready Solo Album

Grian Chatten is planning a second solo album, promising a livelier, more energetic sound after Fontaines D.C.’s next chapter.

A New Solo Chapter Is Already Taking Shape

Grian Chatten may be preparing to step away from Fontaines D.C. for a little while, but his creative engine clearly isn’t slowing down. The singer has revealed that he’s thinking about another solo album—one he imagines as “a lot more lively” and “festival-ready.”

That’s a striking contrast to the intimate, shadowy mood of his first solo record. Still, anyone who has followed Chatten’s work knows he rarely stands still for long. Even when the music feels hushed, there’s usually something restless bubbling underneath.

Chatten released his first and, so far, only solo album, Chaos For The Fly, in 2023. The record arrived after Fontaines D.C. had established themselves as one of the most talked-about guitar bands of their generation, following Dogrel, A Hero’s Death, and Skinty Fia.

Each Fontaines D.C. album had expanded the group’s world in a different direction. Their early material carried the sharp, urgent energy of post-punk, while later records became broader, stranger, and more emotionally layered. Against that backdrop, Chatten’s solo work felt like stepping through a side door into a much quieter room.

From Band Intensity to Private Reflection

That first solo record was written during the demanding touring cycle surrounding Skinty Fia. Life on the road can be romantic from a distance—night buses, packed rooms, bright lights—but the reality often involves exhaustion, repetition, and long stretches of being alone in crowded places.

Chatten responded to that atmosphere with songs built around acoustic guitars, strings, and piano. Rather than chasing the full-force impact of Fontaines D.C., he leaned into restraint. The result was an introspective album that seemed to turn inward, examining isolation, anxiety, and the strange emotional aftertaste of constant movement.

Songs such as “Bob’s Casino” carried that intimate quality. The track drew on poetry and storytelling, with a fragile arrangement that left plenty of room for Chatten’s voice. It was less about making a room explode and more about letting a thought linger after the song had ended.

That shift made Chaos For The Fly feel like a personal snapshot. Chatten wasn’t abandoning his identity as Fontaines D.C.’s frontman; he was isolating one part of himself and examining it under a different light.

Listen to “Bob’s Casino”

The mood of Chatten’s first solo era comes through clearly in the official video for “Bob’s Casino,” a song that captures the album’s acoustic textures and inward-looking atmosphere.

The song’s gentler sound also helps explain why Chatten is now interested in moving in another direction. Once you’ve spent an entire record plumbing the depths of solitude, perhaps the natural next step is to open the windows, turn up the volume, and invite a few more people into the room.

Why He Wants to Keep Writing

Fontaines D.C. are preparing to release their fifth album, Dopamine Chamber, which follows 2024’s acclaimed Romance. The band is also looking ahead to a substantial 2027 touring schedule, giving the members plenty of reason to pause once the immediate album campaign is over.

Chatten has suggested that some time away could be good for the group. After years of recording, touring, and living inside the constant momentum of Fontaines D.C., a break may offer everyone a chance to take stock.

“The best place we can go from here is away for a while. Take a bit of stock, and give people a break from us, maybe for a little while, after this one,” Grian Chatten said.

But a break from the band doesn’t necessarily mean a break from music. Chatten explained that he continues to write regularly, and that unfinished material has a habit of piling up until it demands attention.

“I say that to you, but at the same time, I’m still writing a lot of music. I feel like when you do a fair bit of writing, and it doesn’t go anywhere, and it starts to stack up, you want it to go somewhere.”

That feeling will be familiar to anyone who has ever filled a notebook with half-finished lyrics or recorded voice memos at inconvenient hours. Some ideas refuse to stay quiet. They sit around, gather dust, and then suddenly become impossible to ignore.

Chatten admitted that he may simply keep writing, even during the band’s downtime. As he put it, the process might help him “get a bit of oxygen.” It’s a lovely description of songwriting as both pressure valve and breathing space.

The Next Solo Album Could Sound Very Different

When asked directly whether all that writing could become another solo album, Chatten gave a straightforward answer: yes, he thinks so.

He said he has already been considering the idea and has “a few tunes” in progress. More importantly, he has begun forming a picture of how he wants the next record to feel.

“It’d be a lot more lively and a bit more kind of festival-ready.”

That phrase immediately suggests a different kind of solo project. Where Chaos For The Fly often felt suited to headphones, late-night walks, and quiet rooms, the next album could be aimed at open air, movement, and communal energy.

The idea of Chatten writing festival-ready material is especially intriguing because his voice has always carried a natural dramatic force. Even at his most subdued, there’s an intensity in the way he delivers a line. Put that vocal presence over bigger rhythms, brighter arrangements, or more propulsive instrumentation, and the result could have a serious spark.

For now, Chatten hasn’t shared a title, release date, track list, or detailed production plans. What we do have is a direction: livelier, more expansive, and built to connect with a crowd.

What the First Album Taught Him

Chatten’s earlier comments about Chaos For The Fly offer useful context for what a second solo album might represent. He described the project as a way of drawing a boundary around himself while still remaining part of Fontaines D.C.

“It was like taking a picture of the band and putting a line around me, and reminding me where I stand separate from them.”

That separation allowed him to explore feelings he might not have been able to process in the same way within the band. He spoke about going deeply into darkness, depression, and isolation, while also acknowledging that his bandmates had offered themselves as people to talk to.

The solo record became another form of conversation—one conducted through songs rather than direct explanation.

“These new tunes were my way of exploring that, so it was a relief when I started working on the record. It’s like reclaiming ownership over my music.”

There was one regret, though: Chatten wished he had taken longer to make the album. The process, he said, was over quickly. That may partly explain why a future solo album could develop differently. With more time, more accumulated ideas, and a clearer sense of what he wants, the next project might feel less like a sudden excavation and more like a deliberately built world.

A Record That Helped Him Feel Less Alone

The emotional work of Chaos For The Fly also had a lasting effect on Chatten. He later explained that making the album left him in a much better place and helped shape the way he approached Fontaines D.C.’s fourth album, Romance.

“I feel markedly less alone after that record, which was a big part of the reason for doing it. It’s not all doom and gloom – I feel good.”

That final thought matters. The first solo album may have explored difficult territory, but it wasn’t simply a descent into gloom. It gave Chatten a way to organize complicated feelings and turn them into something shared.

There was also a literary ambition in the background. Alongside making music, he expressed interest in writing and publishing a book of poetry. That detail fits neatly with the way his lyrics often balance vivid images, unusual turns of phrase, and a strong sense of character.

Here’s a look back at Chatten discussing his creative world and life away from the stage:

Fontaines D.C. Continue Moving Forward

While Chatten looks toward another solo album, Fontaines D.C. remain firmly in motion. Dopamine Chamber has already been described as a dark but exhilarating reflection on the end of the world, continuing the band’s habit of pairing heavy themes with adventurous sound.

The record also includes a collaboration with Rosalía, which Chatten described as a career high. That partnership adds another layer to the band’s expanding musical identity, showing how far they’ve moved from the narrow expectations that often surround guitar groups.

Before the band takes any extended time away, Fontaines D.C. are also scheduled to perform an intimate show at London’s Roundhouse. The event celebrates the new album while raising money for CALM, a mental health charity. It’s a fitting setting for a band whose music has so often explored alienation, pressure, belonging, and the complicated business of trying to stay human in public.

For fans, the timing creates an interesting crossroads. Fontaines D.C. are about to enter another major phase, while Chatten is quietly sketching out a solo future that could sound nothing like his first record. One project faces outward toward a larger stage; the other may begin in a notebook, one unfinished song at a time.

Chatten’s next solo album is still taking shape, but its early description already tells us plenty. After the inward pull of Chaos For The Fly, he seems ready to make something more open, energetic, and built for shared moments under festival lights. Would you rather hear him return to the hushed intimacy of his debut, or embrace a louder, more celebratory sound?

FAQ

• What is Grian Chatten’s next solo album expected to sound like?
  Chatten has described the potential follow-up as “a lot more lively” and “festival-ready,” suggesting a more energetic direction than his debut.
• What was Grian Chatten’s first solo album?
  His first solo album was Chaos For The Fly, released in 2023.
• How did Chatten describe the purpose of his first solo project?
  He viewed it as a way to separate his individual identity from Fontaines D.C. and reclaim ownership over his music.
• When might the next solo album arrive?
  No release date has been announced. Chatten is still writing and considering the project while Fontaines D.C. continue their album and touring plans.
• What other creative project has Chatten discussed?
  Alongside new music, he has expressed interest in writing and publishing a book of poetry.

If Chatten’s music has ever felt like a piece of your own story, you can keep that feeling close with a favorite album cover poster from Architeg Prints. It’s a warm, stylish way to bring a little of that atmosphere home.