As with most decisions in life, especially those involving entanglements of the heart, the opening line of ‘Reading in the Dark’ by Northern Ireland based band PORTS starts with “We lost our minds”. I’m sure we all have at some point, but interestingly the track deals more with mental health, than it does with love.
This new track has a silky mellow vibe to it, flooding your senses with mental images of an Americana road trip along wide sandy desert roads that deep down we’d all love to do at some point in our lives. There are also slight hints of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’ as well as a southern Louisiana undertone that instantly has your heart slowing to a relaxed, more chilled rhythm, a much needed antidote to today’s frenetic lifestyles.
The track originated some years ago from the mind of the drummer, Mark, with the band having not long returned from touring Canada, the US, UK, and Australia. A group sensation overcame them all, that slight feeling of being burned out, ‘Reading in the Dark’ is about just letting things happen, enjoying the simpler things in life, isolating a little if you will?
Steven, the band’s vocalist, puts it best:
“‘Reading in the Dark’ was kind of a metaphor for not really looking into the future anymore and just let things play out as they will. “Maybe our eyes will adjust” meaning we’ll start to see things a bit more clearer when we stop worrying about the future.”
This track will most likely be a an aperitif to the rest of the album which the band are currently finalising. ‘Reading in the Dark’ serves as a reminder that they’re still very much active, despite the current pandemic situation, and they can’t wait to release the album and get out there once again to tour.
