Danish instrumental rock trio Town Portal releases first single from new album 'Grindwork'

Today, Copenhagen instrumental rock trio TOWN PORTAL releases a brand new single entitled Crushed Under Something Gentle as the first offering from their forthcoming fourth album Grindwork set for a release on November 7th 2025 via the band’s own newly formed label Dream Bureau. The new single sees the band being as adventurous as ever, featuring a beautiful string arrangement by two local musicians, leading the band down new paths.

TOWN PORTAL states on Crushed Under Something Gentle:

"Crushed... is a track we’ve been itching to share, as it captures some of the new directions we’ve explored this time around. It starts off as a playful, almost deconstructed waltz before venturing into a series of grinding, dissonant experiments. We don’t often go “epic,” but the song’s climax ventures there - driven in no small part by Lisa Marie Vogel and Nicole Hogstrand’s string arrangement. We wanted the outro to feel crushing and pretty at once. Like the end of the world, but against a beautiful sunset. The Violin and Cello bring a texture and a melodic depth to the piece that we could never have conjured on our own.

TOWN PORTAL will play at Alice, Copenhagen on September 20th and more shows will be announced in near future. Tickets for the Copenhagen shows are available HERE.

TOWN PORTAL have spent more than a decade carving out a niche within the realm of instrumental rock music. Fusing angular polymeters with jazzy playfulness and melodic sensibilities of 90's noise rock and post-hardcore, their songs unfold as continuous struggles between dissonance and harmony, chaos and groove. In February 2024, TOWN PORTAL ended a five year hiatus with a European tour in support of melodic hardcore legends Thrice. On this tour Town Portal showcased material from what would become their fourth album Grindwork.

On Grindwork, TOWN PORTAL team up with engineer Mark Roberts (Delta Sleep, Black Peaks, etc.) to craft an album that departs from the bleak, stringent sound of its predecessor Of Violence (2019), while retaining the grit and heft introduced to the band’s sound on this album. Instead, Grindwork dives into a playful exploration of the raw materials of composition without self-imposed restraints, reflecting a renewed sense of creative joy within the trio.

This sense of joy that permeates Grindwork sharply contrasts with a world increasingly starved of it. A world in which any creative endeavour could be perceived as trivial or even selfish in the face of the planetary and political crises of our time. At the same time, it’s a reaction to exactly that deprivation — a refusal to surrender to the pull of creative cynicism or apathy. On Grindwork, TOWN PORTAL circles back to the fragile idea that creating something still matters.

Over the years, TOWN PORTAL have released music through labels such as Subsuburban (DK), Small Pond (UK), and Art As Catharsis (AUS). When Small Pond ceased label operations in 2023, the band founded their own imprint, Dream Bureau, to reissue their back catalog and self-release Grindwork. The creation of Dream Bureau fulfills a long-time fantasy of having the band’s DIY ethos reflect in the entire lifecycle of creating and releasing music.

As a live band, TOWN PORTAL have toured extensively across Europe, with standout performances at festivals such as ArcTanGent (2016, 2017), A Colossal Weekend (2016, 2019), Duna Jam (2018), and Portals (2024). In 2024, they supported Thrice (US) on their European tour, adding to a list of notable support slots that also includes legends like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Polvo, and Kowloon Walled City.

TOWN PORTAL’s discography spans their debut EP Vacuum Horror (2011) and albums Chronopoly (2012), The Occident (2015), Of Violence (2019) and Grindwork (2025). Initially formed as a quartet in 2009, TOWN PORTAL was reduced to a trio after the release of their debut EP and has consistently performed and recorded as a three piece since then.