Portugal The Man – In The Mountain In The Cloud – What may be most impressive about Portugal the Man’s sixth full-length in six years, In the Mountain in the Cloud, is the flow of it. It’s not that every track has a great transition – there really aren’t many – but the pacing of it is fantastic, and that flow only helps to enhance the band’s mesmerizing qualities.
There’s a simplicity to the album, without dumbing it down for fans. It’s like the band went back and found a piece of what made classic rock acts like The Beatles so catchy and memorable (as well as pulling liberally from the psychedelic era of that band) and infused the greatest of those techniques into the Portugal’s sound.
From the catchy opening of “Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now),” to the incredible mix of high-pitched vocals in contrast to the driving bass beat on “All Your Light (Times Like These),” Portugal the Man constantly finds new and exciting ways to keep the attention of listeners on this effort. And again, the flow goes a long way in creating an album that feels like it’s taking its time with each track, but moves along briskly nevertheless.
It sounds great on vinyl, and the psychedelic elements of the record will be obvious from the album cover, which is drenched in the colors of the rainbow with the images broken up almost like they are being viewed through a kaleidoscope that met a Shel Silverstein book cover. The white record with purple label even feels like a good fit. The only real disappointment is that there isn’t more than a sleeve for the vinyl inside, but even that fits in well with the style of this release.
Review by: Bill Jones
Sound/Press Quality: 4/5
The Album: 4/5
Artwork/Packaging: 3/5
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