No Need For Censors Here
Portugal. The Man is busy making classics.
Portugal. The Man
Censored Colors
Released on Sep 16, 2008
Censored Colors, Portugal. The Man’s latest musical endeavor is a unique one to say the least. Combining elements of soul, blues, progressive, experimental and even electronic and folk at times, the Alaskan natives always bring something new and interesting with each release. Recently signed to Equal Vision Records on very relaxed and unbound terms, the band certainly has the time and resources to create some amazing music.
The first single from the album, “Lay Me Back Down,” incorporates soul-filled and ridiculously effects-driven guitar lines, interlaced with wailing vocals by singer/guitarist John Gourley. “Colors,” another song of the album features orchestral movements and somber group vocals parts. Dealing with the hard idea of imminent death, it’s a good match stylistically. The sorrowful chants of “I’m not afraid to die/ ‘cause all these colors will change,” really bring out the genuine depression in the song.
Style changes are common throughout this album, as is evident in “Out And In And In And Out.” Starting out as a gentle acoustic presentation – it later transforms into a slow spirited full band piece; really letting the band show their versatility. This can also be heard on the later track “New Orleans.” This track features jazz horns and a free form, beat-poetry style to it.
Another interesting track to listen to is “1989.” Somehow Portugal. The Man managed to squeeze some Bob Marley-esque island beats into this track, which is a complete change of pace, although not a bad one by any means. This track is separated into two parts, the latter of the two, “Our Way,” is the last track of Censored Colors.
While I’d like to avoid clichés - Portugal. The Man is simply creating great music with each new release. Their last album, Church Mouth was completely revolutionary in comparison to their previous works, which were still kick-ass. They even had an electronic album, and remixed several of The Sound of Animals Fighting songs. They draw inspiration and style from bands of all genres and this is the best evidence yet of their ability to do so.
High Point
“Lay Be Back Down” is just great. It’s a good reminder of how the band has changed stylistically because it's more comparable to their previous albums than any of the other tracks.
Low Point
“Intermission” is kind of boring and pointless.
Posted by Andrew Scott on Oct 15, 2008 @ 7:00 am
