Before I picked up Portugal. The Man’s In the Mountain In the Cloud, I had remembered running across the band’s name around the blogosphere the last couple of years, but had never actually heard any of their music. The name itself always stuck out to me, having lived in Portugal. The Country for two years (well, actually, a small air force base located on a small island of the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean), yet this album, their first release on major label Atlantic, turned out to be my first chance to really check them out. Approaching this album with no expectations, I was initially blown away by the intricate array of sounds and catchy melodies. After doing some research, I was shocked to discover that the prolific nature of the band, releasing around an album a year since their debut in 2004. I knew immediately this review would be a challenge, as I am the type of person that likes to be familiar with a band’s expanded works and look at each part as a part of the greater collective work. Fittingly, my review for Portugal. The Man’s In the Mountain In the Cloud would mirror my time in Portugal. The Country, which was limited to a 18-mile by 12-mile rock in the middle of the ocean.
Sounds Like:
Flaming Lips, MGMT, My Morning Jacket, Death Cab For Cutie
The Portland-based quartet (though some members hail from Wasila, Alaska) has been busy since their debut in 2004. In addition to their saturation of the market, Portugal. The Man has been building a strong reputation for putting on epic live shows, with songs pushing the 10-minute mark. Clearly, In the Mountain In the Cloud marks a pivotal moment in the band’s career, as the band’s major label release no doubt has long time fans in a sweat.
Key Tracks:
Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now), You Carried Us, Share With Me The Sun, Sleep Forever
So did they sell out? Well, I can’t answer that, but I can say the sound quality and production is great. An eerie arpeggio from a synthesizer provides the opening for “So American,” ItMItC’s opening track, and is quickly joined by an acoustic guitar and leadman John Grouley’s falsetto vocals. Numerous other instruments, including a robust string section and a variety of percussive instruments (steel drums, timpanis, trap set, drum machine) join the fray and interact throughout. The next track, “Floating (Time Isn’t Working My Side)” opens with huge-sounding electric guitars and a mesmerizing chorus of “oh oh ohs,” alternately fading into the smooth verses, driven by a bluesy bass line and reggae-style guitar upstrokes. Grouley shows off his vocals ability on this track, a crooning tenor during the verses and a wailing falsetto in the (layered) choruses. The track takes off into a free for all towards the end, as the band jams out along the chorus riff, ending on a chord of strings.
Music Video for “Got It All”
“Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now),” the album’s first single, really illustrates the wide degree of instruments the band uses, from the drum machine at the very beginning to the strings underlying the verses and chorus to the electric guitar riff providing the hook that kicks off the verses. Grouley’s vocal agility is also on display throughout. The next track, “Senseless,” is an immediate stark contrast, as dark, pounding synthesizers drive this sinister waltz, also characterized by a sneaky-catchy melody in the chorus. The more laid back “Head Is a Flame (Cool With It)” shifts between bluesy verses and synth-drenched spacey choruses.
Best Lyric:
“In the world we were just spacemen taking a ride / the gorilla’s in his human suit reciting his lines” - “Once Was One”
The rest of the album continues in much of the same fashion, a bevy of instruments weaving in and out, often resulting in the same melody being carried by different instruments in the same song. The rise and falls in “You Carried Us (Share With Me the Sun)” are especially punctuated the final time through, as it builds from a single voice and strings to a Flaming Lips-like anthem. From the opener “So American” to the six-minute closer, “Sleep Forever,” In the Mountain In the Cloud remains strong throughout.
Overall Rating:
After listening to In the Mountain In the Cloud for the past week, I have found its infectious melodies trapped in my head hours later, as I fight the urge to immediately raid iTunes for their earlier work. Based on their short, albeit prolific, history, it’s safe to assume that this won’t be the last we see from Portugal. The Man. Till the next release, I’ll be looking forward to catching them live (which, unfortunately, will not be at Austin City Limits Festival this year).
