By Robert Haile

The Northern Threads is dropping a new single just in time for Christmas and before they head out on their 2024 tour.

The Whitehaven band is releasing the EP ‘Tangerine Girl’, that gives ‘Northern Threads but on a lighter note’.

Speaking to The Herdwick News, the band’s lead, Jake McNicholas said the whole song came to him in an ‘instant’.

He said: “‘Tangerine Girl’ has been a weird one for us, we couldn’t quite get it sounding right as this is one of our own homemade tracks. 

“When I first started writing the song it came to me in an instant, the girl idea was there but the tangerine metaphor only shed light after eating a tangerine. That tangerine could be a pinnacle point in my writing history, as silly as it may seem.”

The songwriter went on to explain that the process of creating the new song all happened ‘within an hour’.

“Once the lyrics was down I began to record the song in my student accommodation, within an hour or so the demo was in motion and many of it is still within the finish product,” he said.  

The band has had a big year, touring around the UK and playing festivals, so recording songs was put on the back burner until everything settled down again.

‘Tangerine Girl’ is their first release since 2022, but this track has been ‘spruced up’ with help from a friend across the border. 

“We spruced the tracks up and sent it over to our mate James in Glasgow who gave it a final mix and mastered the track for us. For us it feels like a turning point with regard to sound, it is still The Northern Threads but on a lighter note,” Jake said. 

The band will first play their new EP live at The Yellow Earl, in Whitehaven, giving audiences a taste of their new music before they head out for a nine-date tour in 2024 – heading to cities such as Liverpool and London, among others – with more information on their tour coming Thursday, December 21.