New Music Reviews - 7/19/2011 - Portugal. The Man, They Might Be Giants, Theophilus London, and 311

Portugal. The Man In the Mountain in the Cloud - The indie and psych rock band based out of Portland, Oregon haven't slowed down at all releasing their sixth studio album over the past six years.  The band has jumped ship from indie label Equal Vision and is charting a new course with mega-label Atlantic Records.  In conjunction with the album, the band released a short film via IFC entitled "Sleep Forever."  That short film basically acts as an extended music video for two songs from this album, "Sleep Forever" and "Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)."

This 11-track disc opens with the catchy and inviting "So American" that slowly builds from its subtle acoustic guitar work as it talks about "...the madness in us all."  The first single from the album, "Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)," has rhythmic, pulsing electric guitars and glam rock style vocals to create an interesting song that manages to transcend the band's usual sound with a Beatles-esque vocal harmonies during the chorus.  "Everything You See (Kids Count Hallelujahs)" is a sweeping track that wisely integrates a blaring trumpet over the clever keyboard refrain that I found instantly enchanting.  "All Your Light (Times Like These)" has a darker melody and tone which helps provide some balance to the album and features some of the best vocal work on the album with the song starting on a more somber tone before adding tension to the song by slightly changing his timber. 

Overall, In the Mountain is Potugal. The Man's most consistent release from beginning to end.  While they've had great individual tracks scattered on their past discs, this is the band's first complete album and it acts as a nice respite from some of the bubblegum-heavy releases this summer with its extremely well balanced sound.  The change over to Atlantic Records seems to have been a good choice with the more seasoned production team helping the band release its most polished album to date.  Not every track is a hit but the highs greatly outweigh the lows. 

Score: 8.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)" [sample it below], "All Your Light (Times Like These)" and "Everything You See (Kids Count Hallelujahs)"

They Might Be Giants Join Us - They're baaaaaack and they brought their accordion with them as usual.  The Johns (both Linnell and Flansburgh) come together to release a brand spankin' new album and unlike three of their past four albums, this one is not targeted towards preschool age children.  Instead, it is the return to the all-ages alternative pop & rock music they produced in the 80's and 90's. One of my favorite bands in high school, I've seen them live over a dozen times and they'll be back on tour again this fall.  I'm sure my friend Jeanne is already waiting in line for tickets.  =)

The album begins with the fantastic "Can't Keep Johnny Down" which features beguiling keyboard work initially before they layer on the electric guitar and the vocals but its the super catchy hook that will draw you in initially.  "Let Your Hair Hang Down" is a throwback song with Linnell's vocals doing the heavy lifting but Flansburgh's vocals adding a high-tenor compliment during the chorus and during harmonies.  "When Will You Die" is a quirky Flansburgh sung ditty with a soaring horn section about finding that "one last piece of the puzzle."  "You Don't Like Me" has a more standard melody but the lyrics is pure TMBG with its random listing of things the antagonist does like (e.g. shadow puppets, Woody Harrelson, and cigarettes) to counterpoint the title of the song. 

Join Us is TMBG's best album in years ranking only behind their greatest albums from the 90's.  Their alternative pop sound is still on the out-there, whimsical side meaning its not going to appeal to a mainstream audience but this album is probably more accessible than their albums from the 2000's.  TMBG is one of those bands where either you get it or you don't.  For those people that "never got it," this album isn't going to change your opinion of the band any.  For people that "get it" and were already fans of the band, go out and purchase this album as you will not be disappointed.  It's not as consistent as Flood or Apollo 18, but it more than satisfies that TMBG craving that their kiddie albums from the past few years were not able to. 

Score:  8/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Can't Keep Johnny Down" [sample it below] and "When Will You Die"

Theophilus London Timez Are Weird These Days - Theophilus London is a hip-hop/rap artist that became popular after releasing a series of independent mixtapes.  This is London's debut studio album.  The strength of this album is the fast tempo, get-stuck-in-your-head melodies on the best songs and strong vocalist work by London and by two guest artists on two separate tracks.  "Love Is Real" featuring Holly Miranda is the first standout track from the disc with her backup vocals acting as a potent counterpoint to London's rap over the catchy melody.  London also infuses other genres into his rap songs often skewing his tracks towards funk or electro-pop styles.  For a debut album, there are some very creatively written tunes but there are a number of missteps as well that hurt the overall enjoyment of the release.

Score: 6.5/10 
Song(s) to Sample: "Love Is Real" [sample it below] and "Lighthouse"

311 Universal Pulse - This is the tenth studio album from the prolific alternative rock band from Omaha, Nebraska.  Most of the songs are hard rocking, electric guitar driven tracks like the first single from the album, "Sunset In July," although there are a couple of more mellow, ballad-esque songs like "Trouble."  It's an average album that will probably appeal to fans of the band although I did find the songs becoming monotonous towards the end of the disc ("Weightless" comes to mind).  Also, the album's overall score is hurt by the brevity of the release with it only lasting 8-tracks long with only one of the tracks lasting longer than four minutes. 

Score: 5.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Sunset In July" [sample it below]




BLOG NOTE: I'm going on vacation for a week so my reviews for next week might be delayed a few days.  Thanks for stopping by!