Belfast duo New Portals have released their brand new EP Golden Hour. The four track EP features new single ‘Chasing Shade’ and the recently released song ‘Sober’.
‘Chasing Shade’ is a moving ballad from New Portals, with reverberating pianos and a solemn drum roll laying the foundations for the pair’s beautiful harmonies.
The new single premiered with The Line Of Best Fit who said, “‘Chasing Shade’ is certainly a classy cut worthy of everyone’s attention.”
Regarding the new single New Portals say, “‘Chasing Shade’ is a song we wrote about that one person we all know who is just happy with their lives no matter what happens. We’re off busying ourselves, trying to make the world a better place or build a better or more fulfilling future for ourselves and some people are just happy to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. This song is about how envious we are of those people and how we wish we could just get away from the compulsions that drive us.”
‘Sober’ takes things on a more electronic tip, with delicate synths paired with a 4/4 beat, while the Golden Hour EP also features the lush lounging indie of ‘Do It Right’ and the mellow R&B-tinged ‘Locked Down’.
On the Golden Hour EP the band say, “This is our most honest and delicate release to date. We’ve tackled issues that aren’t necessarily in vogue. Discontent, sobriety, dissatisfaction. Production on the Golden Hour EP turned out differently from what we had envisioned. We booked studio time to make a simple acoustic record but couldn’t get away from adding in some synths and vibey electric guitar, so we just went with it. The EP ended up as a blend between folk and electronica.”
The Golden Hour EP follows the release of the band’s debut EP Stereo earlier this year, which was met with great acclaim from the likes of the Metro, The Guardian, Dork Magazine, Line Of Best Fit, Missguided, Pretty 52, 1883, Galore, Pop Dust and many more.
New Portals have also received strong support from BBC Radio 1, with Phil Taggart and Huw Stephens particularly big champions of the band at the station. They’ve been featured in a host of high profile Spotify playlists and receive regular in-store rotation at a number of leading UK high street brands too.
The band have also been developing increasing transatlantic appeal, having completed their first US tour last year and playing a number of shows at SXSW 2017. It illustrates the fact that New Portals are one of the most exciting musical exports coming from Ireland today.
New Portals will be playing live in London at The Crowndale, Camden on November 10th. Tickets are available now through SeeTickets.
