Portugal. The Man // In the Mountain in the Cloud
"Although clearly disregarding grammar rules, their success has been confirmed with a strong fan base..."
Release Date: October 10th 2011
Portugal. The Man – In the Mountain in the Cloud (Atlantic Records)
Although seemingly non-conforming to the trend of inanimate metaphorical ‘and the...’ indie bands, such as ‘and the Machine’ and ‘and the Diamonds’, ‘Portugal. The Man’, goes by a somewhat ironic name. Although clearly disregarding grammar rules, their success has been confirmed with a strong fan base; it is now, with their sixth album, they choose to move to a much more major label, Atlantic Records.
They combine electric soul, strongly influenced by producer John Hill who previously worked with Santogold and M.I.A., with soft rock melodies and a constant backing track of strings. They open begin with strong themes of David Bowie and Mott the Hoople, ‘So American’ sings the Alaskan group, their ironic title song seems to contradict them somewhat, whether intentionally or not. Without research I would not been able to trace their Alaskan background, which perhaps could have been a salvaging point to their somewhat familiar record.
The amount of times they use brackets in the title of their songs - 6 times in one album [for example ‘Got it All (This Can’t Be Living Now)’, the next single] - reflects the uncertainty of the development to a more conventional record. Not that familiar is a negative attribute, with each song you feel the ability so hum along obliviously. Although it seems more like a Bowie tribute band but with added sound effects this is a surprisingly pleasant album.
6/10 Cicely Ryder-Belson
