RIYL: Broken Bells, Cold War Kids, Cage the Elephant, Local Natives
Give their 2013 album “Evil Friends” a good listen and Portugal. The Man will probably become the best band from Alaska you’ve ever heard. Granted, they’ll probably be the only band from Alaska you’ve ever heard, so the competition isn’t especially stiff. Hailing from Wasilla (Sarah Palin loves them!) Portugal. The Man (PTM) congealed in 2005 after lead-singer John Gourley’s previous group disbanded, and the band has been steadily gaining momentum ever since, signing with Atlantic records in 2010 and playing at top-tier festivals like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza. “Evil Friends” is their seventh full-length release and marks their first time working with highly sought after producer Brian Burton, a.k.a. Danger Mouse.
The pairing makes sense, since releases from both PTM and Danger Mouse often have a unique sound that resists classification. For the most part, “Evil Friends” features a psychedelic pop sound very similar to Broken Bells, with a few tracks veering more strongly towards indie-rock. It’s a fresh and innovative sound with catchy riffs from wall to wall and quirky lyrics that deal with religion, war, fame, apathy and of course, being evil.
Gourley pulls no punches with his subject matter, though the themes of being evil probably shouldn’t be taken too literally. He chants the lines “I just wanna be evil” over and over on the foot-stomping highlight ‘Purple Yellow Red & Blue’ and somehow manages to sound lighthearted about it, but elsewhere on the album he takes some serious shots at organized religion and theology that feel bold for a major label pop record.
The mood is upbeat on another must-listen “Modern Jesus”, but the catchy chorus hits hard as Gourley delivers the lines with conviction “Don’t pray for us/ We don’t need no modern Jesus/…The only faith we have is faith in us.” Hard to stomach for some, but if you can handle the lyrics, “Evil Friends” is packed with clever and catchy songwriting that rarely disappoints.
