30 days. 30 listens. That was the promise I made myself when I pre-ordered Portugal. The Man's newest album, In the Mountain in the Cloud, earlier this summer. After a month of intense time spent with the album, I am speechless.
There's something about Portugal. The Man that I struggle to put my finger on. The band has released five quality albums in the past five years, and any musician will attest to the remarkable feat that that that is. Their 2009 release The Satanic Satanist's sweet harmonies and jangling guitars quickly helped it become one of our favorites of the year. 2010 left us with American Ghetto, another superb album packed with lush instrumentation and breath-taking harmonies from the Maine-based quartet.
In the Mountain In the Cloud, however, is beyond anything the band has done so far. And I am, embarrassingly so, speechless. In the Mountain in the Cloud is beautiful, unique, confident, and damn near perfect. The swelling instrumentation meshes excellently with Gourley's permanent falsetto. The ambient fuzz with which the album is suffused is so sweet it kills. The melodies are beautiful, infectious, and superbly mixed. I tip my hat to Portugal. The Man; this album is excellent.
- Owen
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