American Ghetto - Portugal. The Man

Nothing really screams “summer” like a new Portugal. The Man record. For me, this is very easy to say, as I was first introduced to PtM through The Satanic Satanist, when it was released last July. I had this gorgeous 11-track album on heavy rotation for months after I initially heard it. File it under “love at first listen”, I guess. Satanist quickly became the soundtrack to (the rest of) my summer and easily slid into slot number 2 on my best of 2009 list.

Yet somehow, not even 8 months have passed since Satanist’s release, and these guys are eagerly handing us another album like it’s no biggie. And it’s really not. Since the band first formed in 2004, they’ve almost effortlessly put out a new album every year, with an EP thrown in here and there for good measure. And each year they’re revving up their productivity even more, now, almost so it seems that American Ghetto came too fast. When explaining PtM’s spontaneous new release, vocalist John Gourley said in a post on the band’s website, “American Ghetto was an album that, though drum machined and programmed and synthesized, maintained a lot of feeling and the soul and heart of what this band is.” True to his word, the band’s music seems to sustain, if not exceed, their regular quality of work given a shorter time frame. They’ve just got this shit down.

To be completely honest, it’s really hard to level up any two PtM albums side by side. The band writes incredibly consistent albums— consistently incredible, that is— so even if you find anything to pick at it’s more likely the general direction of the album instead of a minor detail. I haven’t yet been disappointed by any of their albums and Ghetto is no new exception. From start to finish, they’ve created yet another masterpiece in which the threads are weaved together perfectly, allowing the album to throw forth its brightest colours and dance like crazy as the sunlight reflects them from above.

As far as influence goes, Ghetto echoes Satanist’s captivating pop sound more than anything else the band has released. But besides that faint vibe, Ghetto heads off into territory yet undiscovered by PtM; a world where synths dominate layers of muddled guitar and work with Gourley’s ever-catchy vocals to give a new name to Portugal. The Man as far as pop is concerned. Only during “The Pushers Party” does Ghetto temporarily remove its mask and explode into a Satanist-esque jam (that’s hard to pronounce). The rest of the time, the album jumps out with catchy tracks like “All My People” and “The Dead Dog” or the melancholy “Some Men”, which remind us that PtM has lost none of their songwriting talent whilst straying from their traditional sound.

Ghetto doesn’t maintain its strength through its entirety quite as well as Satanist did. Around “Fantastic Pace” and “Do What We Do”, the album actually stumbles a bit, despite starting off so strongly. But I think it makes up for this with the last three tracks, particularly “When The War Ends”. Satanist honestly could have spun up a better ending after repeatedly setting such high standards, but Ghetto’s finale actually lives up to its name. “When The War Ends” almost mimics “People Say” ’s uncertain attitude with its own matter-of-factly-ness, perhaps suggesting that American Ghetto is a more mature Satanist. Is it? Well, I dunno, but I love this song and I sure can’t wait till summer, because Portugal. The Man during the summer is the shit.

[download "The Dead Dog" ]

Rating: 8.5/10

(And if you are wondering, Satanist gets an 8.8 in my book)

PtM RETWEETED THIS. I LOVE YOU -->

[currently listening to: In Response to Irresponsibility - Algernon Cadwallader]

Posted by Anna at March 17, 2010 08:18 PM