Seattle Subsonic

“No, YOU Listen!” - Censored Colors by Portugal. The Man

November 17th, 2008

There is an unmistakable theme of color running through Portugal. The Man’s third long player, Censored Colors. In fact, a few songs in the first half of the album mention it repeatedly within the lyrics, most notably during the mournfully bittersweet ballad “Colors”. But that literal association, along with the obvious one in the record’s title, is only part of P.TM’s versatile and progressive connection with the red, green, and blues of the world.

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Perhaps intent on moving away from a place whose infamous former mayor sees the world primarily in black and white, the quartet now makes camp near the rainy rivers of Portland, OR. That place they used to call home? Wasilla, Alaska. That mayor? Sarah Palin, who I shan’t offer the dignity of description here. But that such a minor place produced (most of) a band that has crafted a major mixture of musical genres and styles makes one realize just how isolated the beliefs of Mrs. Palin are. Indeed, Censored Colors meticulously melds tender acoustic rock, vintage explosive metal, harmony-infused folk, jazzy psych-rock, conscious 70s soul, roots reggae, and groggy electro finishes all in concert together forming one freethinking message. We live, we die, we love, and we help others in need.

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Yes, this is a BIG album, and I suspect that’s kind of what the perplexingly named Portugal. The Man had in mind. Their name, I’ve surmised, is loosely based on David Bowie’s larger than life persona, but rather than use an actual name of a member, the idea of using the name of a country—a group of people—was concocted. Oddly enough, Portugal (with a period) was chosen. To keep it interesting, the “The Man” suffix ensures that the country is interpreted singularly, as just one person. This is how John Gourley, the band’s falsetto-loving vocalist and guitar player, explains it, anyway. It somehow makes sense, then, that his tinted vision is what paints this record with multidimensional hues.

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It’s difficult not to immediately latch onto Gourley’s authentic and unpolluted voice, who, for my money, sounds both in manner and message incredibly similar to the reggae great Jimmy Cliff. This resemblance is most evident during the soulful jangle of “Salt”, when he emotively belts “This can’t be all that we have!” as well as the violin-adorned guitar-plucking of “Created”. “I don’t know how we were created / but I know we all die” he begins, reaffirming that other prevalent theme throughout the record: death and rebirth. But the most poignant credo comes from the very first line of “Colors”: “All the needers still need / all the losers still lose / all the preachers still preach / and I know they ain’t bringin’ no change”. That line right there is all you need to know about how Gourley and his bandmates view the world.

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If Censored’s first half is a weighty, acoustic-dominated heartfelt plea, then its second half—separated by an “Intermission”—is a daring, riff-heavy plot to remind the listener that the band still came to rock. The lyrical subjects are largely unchanged, but a volatile song like “Never Pleased” easily stirs up a blend of Queen and Pink Floyd that fans of the chuggariffic Black Mountain would find fit for their basement smoke sessions. “Hard Times” plugs away at a faster pace, and is propped up by boisterous background vocals, swirling Wolf Parade-style electro whirlwinds, staccato trumpeting, and a pumping bass line from Zach Carothers. And in a rather peculiar venture, “New Orleans” is a meandering, quasi-jazz rock melodrama, complete with muted trumpets and squirrely reggae guitar flourishes that eventually break down.

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Most of the songs on this impressive record bleed into one another, creating a visible path and acting as a conduit for the next. And despite the variety of styles utilized, one never gets the feeling that it can’t all exist together, harmoniously as one. Seems like a nice way to go about life, huh?

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Portugal. The Man plays Friday, November 28th at El Corazon. Also, for some great videos of acoustic versions of their songs, produced by the band, go to their website.

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Listen:

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Colors

Salt

And I

Hard Times