It was produced by Nick Sylvester, the founder of New York's Godmode label, and was released on June 6, 2014.

"[2] In a review of the EP for NME, Rhian Daly wrote, "The disco-worshipping, androgynous teen might hail from Las Vegas but on the strength of these five songs (three funky-house stompers, one stupendous ballad and a heart-rending cover of Lindi Ortega) it's fair to say his spiritual homeland is late-'80s Detroit and his god an ill-behaved hybrid of Grace Jones and Frankie Knuckles...

"[3] In July 2014, Radio.com included Northtown in its "New Music To Know: Best of 2014, So Far" profile, noting that "Shamir combines the honest songwriting of Taylor Swift with the theatrics of Lana Del Rey to make something that sounds far wiser than his 19 years".

[4] Foster Kamer of Pigeons & Planes rated Northtown as "2014's most exciting R&B Dance-Pop debut".

[1] In July 2014, Flavorwire named Northtown's opening track one of its "25 Best Songs of 2014 So Far".