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“Balu Brigada is the groove-pop duo you’ve been waiting for.” – PEOPLE
“Balu Brigada is all about experimentation, inspired by genre-mashing musical giants Gorillaz and Frank Ocean. Their songs perfectly soundtrack coastal road trips, summer BBQs and flirty dancefloor moments – effortless, laidback cool…Balu Brigada’s time is now.” – ONES TO WATCH
Leveling up after widespread acclaim, sold-out shows, and runaway success at radio and DSPs, boundary-breaking and buzzing Auckland, NZ brotherly duo Balu Brigada will unveil their anxiously awaited full-length debut album, Portal, on August 29, 2025 via Atlantic Records/ARRO Records/Warner Australia. Meeting widespread fan demand for more music, the group—Henry and Pierre Beasely—herald the record’s arrival with a brand new single entitled “Backseat” out now.
Clocking in at over six minutes, “Backseat” showcases the epic scope of the band’s intricate, infectious, and inimitable vision. It blurs the lines between Studio 54-style disco, experimental alternative, and arena-size rock, revolving around a slippery bass thump, head-nodding beat, and swaggering electric guitar riff. This momentum carries the energy into the embrace of an ironic, yet irresistible refrain, “I think I’m done with all the speeches from the bleachers, don’t wanna hear it no more from the backseat.” Its final crescendo dissolves into a haze of spacey synths, hinting at more to come.
In support of their debut LP, Balu Brigada will also embark on their biggest North American headline run to date, the “Portal” Tour. The tour kicks off October 3 in Mexico City, Mexico, visits major markets such as Los Angeles, Boston, New York, and Miami, and comes to a close on November 15 in Austin, TX. Artist pre-sale sign-ups are available today on https://www.balu-brigada.com/, and general on-sale will launch Friday, June 6 at 10 AM local. Check out the full confirmed itinerary below.
Over the course of three years, the guys notably created Portal around the world, working back home in New Zealand as well as in New York, Berlin, Los Angeles, and beyond. Each location left its imprint on the music, yielding “heavier and grungier energy” for the NYC recordings and “a softer and calmer” vibe for the NZ material. Living out of suitcases between sessions and tours, the pair wholly devoted themselves to pushing the envelope musically and delivering a debut album worthy enough to stand the test of time. As such, the creation of Portal was far from pretty, yet it was honest and cathartic, soaked in blood, sweat, and tears. Rather than rely on outside collaborators, Henry and Pierre continued to write, produce, and record every note themselves. By challenging one another, they bottled the tension, vulnerability, and understanding between them into the music.
Ultimately, the brothers confidently break boundaries, delivering an aural odyssey that teeters on an axis of otherworldly escapism and personal experience. Its melodies may resound to the heavens, yet its emotion is irrefutably grounded and utterly relatable. With the album’s impending release, Balu Brigada are in the fast lane towards a major mainstream breakthrough. They revealed “The Question” back in February. It has already gathered 2 million-plus Spotify streams and received critical acclaim. EUPHORIA. stated, “The duo chooses to highlight an experimental mix of rhythmic flows and production styles, drawing a dubious trajectory with left-field instrumental passages, melodic shifts, and eccentric bursts of electronica.” Grimy Goods raved, “Balu Brigada continually finds a way to give meaning to their pop-leaning tracks, pushing the mainstream forward in the process,” and B-Sides chatted with the pair about “The Question” and more.
Accelerating their rise, Billboard just named “So Cold” its April “Chartbreaker” last month, going on to highlight how, “‘So Cold’ — a spiky, slinky and above all Strokes-y single the duo released in June 2024 — reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart and has the group drawing in droves of new fans. ” Plus, they made their late-night television debut with a seismic and showstopping performance of “So Cold” on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel LIVE! Watch HERE.
SiriusXM championed the band on 2025’s “Future Five,” and Amazon Music pegged them as “Breakthrough: Artists To Watch 2025.” Plus, Balu Brigada supported Twenty One Pilots as special guest on the EU/UK, Latin America, and AU/NZ legs of their blockbuster The Clancy World Tour. The latter followed their support slot on the North American leg of The Clancy World Tour. Everything just sets the stage for Portal though. Get ready to enter another world with Balu Brigada.
ABOUT BALU BRIGADA:
Balu Brigada craft multi-dimensional alternative pop layered with levels of lush live instrumentation, cinematic production, and festival-ready hooks. Henry and Pierre Beasely—the Auckland, NZ-born duo of brothers, co-vocalists, co-writers, and co-producers Balu Brigada—effectively step through a sonic doorway with their music. Since high school, they independently honed their chops for years until landing a deal with Warner Music Australia, Atlantic Music Group and ARRO Records in the United States. The group cultivated their signature sound with the I Should Be Home EP [2022] and Find A Way EP [2023]—highlighted by the fan favorite “Designer” which amassed 26 million Spotify streams and counting. Along the way, they also incited the applause of everyone from Rolling Stone, Coup de Main, i-D, and OnesToWatch to People who christened them “Best New Artist.” Twenty One Pilots even notably selected Balu Brigada as special guests on their massive “Clancy World Tour” across North America, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the UK. The duo reached critical mass with their track “So Cold.” It not only gathered 34 million total streams and counting, but it also notched their very first #1 at radio in the US, claiming the top spot at Alternative. They made their late-night television debut on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel LIVE! with a stunning performance of the song. Plus, it claimed a coveted spot on the FIFA 2025 Official Soundtrack, and SiriusXM spotlighted it as a “Critical Cut.” After piling up hundreds of millions of streams and selling out shows, the band elevates to another stratosphere altogether on their full-length debut album, Portal, introduced by the single “Backseat.”
“PORTAL” TOUR DATES
TICKETS + INFO AT BALU-BRIGADA.COM
OCTOBER
3 – Mexico City, MX – Foro Puebla
6 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
7 – San Diego, CA – Music Box
9 – Los Angeles, CA – Fonda
10 – San Francisco, CA – Independent (2 Show)
12 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
14 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
15 – Vancouver, BC – The Pearl
17 – Boise, ID – Neurolox
18 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Grand at the Complex
20 – Denver, CO – Summit
22 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
23 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
24 – Detroit, MI – El Club
25 – Toronto, ON – Concert Hall
27 – Montreal, QC – Theatre Fairmount
28 – Boston, MA – Royale
30 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
31 – Philadelphia, PA – Foundry
NOVEMBER
1 – Washington DC – 9:30 Club (Early)
3 – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle
4 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West
6 – Jacksonville, FL – FIVE
7 – Orlando, FL – Plaza Live
8 – Tampa, FL – Janus Live
9 – Miami, FL – Zeyzey
13 – Dallas, TX – Studio at The Factory
14 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Midtown
15 – Austin, TX – Mohawk
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