Fontaines D.C.‘s Carlos O’Connell and Tom Coll have produced the upcoming second album for French indie band Film Noir – check out the double single ‘VIENS TIENS TOI’ / ‘VEGITA’ below.
The guitarist and drummer from the Dublin group recorded with Film Noir at La Frette Studios near Paris – the same space Arctic Monkeys made their latest two LPs, ‘Tranquillity Base…’ and ‘The Car’.
O’Connell is in a relationship with Film Noir singer Joséphine de La Baume, who is also an actor, director and model. The couple have two children together, the first of whom inspired Fontaines’ 2025 single ‘It’s Amazing To Be Young’.
“In early 2020 I walked into a gig in a club in Paris and was introduced to a band called Film Noir,” O’Connell wrote on social media to announce his involvement with the forthcoming album. “I fell in love with the singer, I went on to make babies with her & to fall in love twice again with them.
“A little while back myself, [Coll] and @filmnoirmusic went to La Frette and recorded their upcoming record.”
The musician added: “Producing this record was one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve had. Blessed to have so many. This album means the world to me & I hope it’ll mean something to many more.”
Film Noir have previewed the as-yet-untitled LP with two singles, ‘VIENS TIENS TOI’ and ‘VEGITA’. Both songs were produced by O’Connell, with Coll contributing drums. O’Connell was on mixing duties for ‘VEGITA’, too.
‘VIENS TIENS TOI’ begins with a breezy, acoustic intro, before introducing dreamy, shoegaze-inspired elements. ‘VEGITA’, meanwhile, carries a more upbeat, surfy instrumental beneath de La Baume’s ethereal vocals.
Elsewhere, Film Noir have shared a behind-the-scenes video documenting the recording process for their second full-length effort (watch below). A release date is not yet known.
In spring 2020, O’Connell teamed up with Film Noir for a cover of Lee Hazlewood’s song ‘For A Day Like Today’ (via LiveForever). Upon the song’s release, the band called the guitarist “a great supporter of the European rock scene and a common friend”.
Film Noir released their debut EP, ‘Vertiges (Men Of Glory)’, in 2019, with follow-up ‘Tendrement’ arriving the following year. They then dropped their debut full-length album, ‘Palpitant’, in 2022.
In 2011, Joséphine de La Baume appeared as Marie in the film adaptation of One Day, starring Anne Hathaway. Her other acting credits include Apple TV’s The New Look and Polish period movie Chopin, a Sonata In Paris.
O’Connell has also produced the 2026 self-titled debut album for Dead Dads Club – the new band from former Palma Violets frontman Chilli Jesson. This too was made at La Frette Studios.
Speaking to NME in January, O’Connell said the French recording space “feels like a home”. He added: “There’s nothing about it that feels corporate or constrained by time. My mind goes into this creative mode in which I can hear things in a certain way, and it doesn’t stop until I leave the building.”
Jesson told us: “It was really organic. Carlos, on one of the tours we were on together, was working on a Film Noir album, and he was always mixing it and playing around with sounds. He’d just come out of the studio at La Frette and to see that process – with the production – I was like, ‘Holy shit.’ I’d been in a world where it was all on the computer, and then suddenly he’s talking about a fucking bass drum that’s two metres long.”
Fontaines D.C. recently worked on the soundtrack to Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. Elsewhere, they contributed to the star-studded ‘Help(2)’ charity record in aid of War Child.
The ‘Romance’ band are set to play their first shows in almost a year this summer with three headline dates in Spain, ahead of their debut bill-topping slots at Reading & Leeds 2026.
Their itinerary for this year also includes a top slot at Electric Picnic in Ireland, as well as some European and US festivals such as Frequency, La Route du Rock and Shaky Knees.
O’Connell told NME about progress on new Fontaines material at the start of this year. “We’ve been writing, it’s been fun,” he explained. “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.”
When asked if any new tunes could make their way onto the R&L setlists, O’Connell 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 live – songs that weren’t even finished. It’s a good way to test the songs.”
O’Connell was pressed on whether any of the visual elements of the ‘Romance’ tour could remain for Fontaines’ 2026 dates. “I think ‘Romance’ was so intense in every [way]… the visual, the production, the setlist… It wasn’t just about the music,” he told NME.
“It’s almost a bit of the identity of the band now, but I guess that’s the decision to make. Does that become the identity of the band, or actually, it’s just a phase and you reinvent it? I don’t know.”
O’Connell continued: “I personally like the idea of revisiting some old stuff at Reading & Leeds, making the setlist maybe a bit more ‘Dogrel’-heavy. I’m excited about that. I’ve been listening to music like that much more. This morning I was listening to Sonic Youth. I want to go [in] that direction, but we’ll see, because anything could happen now – literally anything.”
‘Romance’ landed at Number Two on NME‘s 50 best albums of 2024 list, behind Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’.