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[This post is from François (NY), via Laurent (Brooklyn) who is having technical issues...]
Hi Everyone,
It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I know Raman from his yogurt days at Dannon in New York. I still live and work at these places. Also, if you haven’t guessed it from my name, I’m the second French guy on this blog after Laurent. Raman first talked to me about this concept 3 years ago and I’m really happy it was brought back to life in 2014 as I thoroughly enjoy listening to music and attend shows on a fairly frequent basis although I’ve never had the patience to learn how to play any instrument.
I have been reading and listening quite avidly to all your posts although the Google gods seem to have obstructed my posting after week 1. I think I’ve managed to fix it so I should be better from now on. Personal favorites from what has been uploaded so far: Broken Bells, Cut Copy and I haven’t gotten to the De La Soul mixtape yet, but eagerly looking forward to that!
As for my selection this week, I have been obsessing over this album for a little while now and consider it to be my favorite from 2013. Evil Friends by Portugal. The Man.
First, I need to mention that this is probably one of the weirdest band names I’ve seen in a long time and it took me a couple of weeks to even agree to listen to their music. I was expecting some sort of macho folksy Iberian serenade with two trumpets in the background playing while drunken Lisboans wander the streets of the city at 3AM.
At least, that’s the picture I had in my head... and the album cover definitely helped me keep that vision.
Now, once I got to listen to them, I was not only happily surprised to figure out that they were singing in English, but also that the lead singer has a voice that resembles Prince more than Julio Iglesias.
Evil Friends is in my eyes their most accomplished album. It has a distinct musical touch to it but still keeps enough variety to make the 12 songs on the album interesting. They definitely qualify as Indie Rock but I like to think there is a little bit more range to their music than your stereotypical Indie Band as they can go a bit heavier on the Rock & Roll side of things for a few songs – Smile, Atomic Man, Evil Friends for example. Or maybe I just listen to too much Indie Rock.
I had the chance to see them live last summer and this style of music really works out well for outdoor concerts. I really recommend seeing them live if you haven’t had that chance already. They also have acoustic recordings of these songs on Spotify which is quite interesting if you like the album.
Last note, they are actually from Alaska and I still have no clue why they are named “Portugal. The Man” although I’ve never googled it. Maybe I now enjoy the mystic that comes from that name.
I hope you enjoy it!
- Francois
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ujl514q0bqrnlv2/Nqqqi2v1Sz
Hi Everyone,
It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I know Raman from his yogurt days at Dannon in New York. I still live and work at these places. Also, if you haven’t guessed it from my name, I’m the second French guy on this blog after Laurent. Raman first talked to me about this concept 3 years ago and I’m really happy it was brought back to life in 2014 as I thoroughly enjoy listening to music and attend shows on a fairly frequent basis although I’ve never had the patience to learn how to play any instrument.
I have been reading and listening quite avidly to all your posts although the Google gods seem to have obstructed my posting after week 1. I think I’ve managed to fix it so I should be better from now on. Personal favorites from what has been uploaded so far: Broken Bells, Cut Copy and I haven’t gotten to the De La Soul mixtape yet, but eagerly looking forward to that!
First, I need to mention that this is probably one of the weirdest band names I’ve seen in a long time and it took me a couple of weeks to even agree to listen to their music. I was expecting some sort of macho folksy Iberian serenade with two trumpets in the background playing while drunken Lisboans wander the streets of the city at 3AM.
At least, that’s the picture I had in my head... and the album cover definitely helped me keep that vision.
Now, once I got to listen to them, I was not only happily surprised to figure out that they were singing in English, but also that the lead singer has a voice that resembles Prince more than Julio Iglesias.
Evil Friends is in my eyes their most accomplished album. It has a distinct musical touch to it but still keeps enough variety to make the 12 songs on the album interesting. They definitely qualify as Indie Rock but I like to think there is a little bit more range to their music than your stereotypical Indie Band as they can go a bit heavier on the Rock & Roll side of things for a few songs – Smile, Atomic Man, Evil Friends for example. Or maybe I just listen to too much Indie Rock.
I had the chance to see them live last summer and this style of music really works out well for outdoor concerts. I really recommend seeing them live if you haven’t had that chance already. They also have acoustic recordings of these songs on Spotify which is quite interesting if you like the album.
Last note, they are actually from Alaska and I still have no clue why they are named “Portugal. The Man” although I’ve never googled it. Maybe I now enjoy the mystic that comes from that name.
I hope you enjoy it!
- Francois
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ujl514q0bqrnlv2/Nqqqi2v1Sz
June 2013 release, and sadly it flew by me and I missed it. So glad you posted it. I've listened to him before, but this is better than I remember.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI've been told by numerous people to check out Portugal. The Man. I feel like I've given them a pretty fair shot (listened to In The Mountain In The Cloud and American Ghetto as well as Evil Friends now) but I think this just isn't for me. Criticisms: they sound extremely over-produced and unfortunately I can't see that the production adds any real value to the songs. Their songwriting is adequate, nothing to detracting there, but I can't find anything in the music that draws me in. Ultimately, it's just not resonating with me. 2.5
ReplyDeleteI couldn't disagree more with ^ these ^ crazy people. I've been listening to this album solid for a week, several times a day. Love it. I've just bought the previous one, In The Mountain In The Cloud.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite tracks are Creep In A T-Shirt, Modern Jesus, Waves and Purple Yellow Red and Blue. But to be honest, I love the whole album.
Incidentally, I've been listening to a stack of Steve Miller Band and Steely Dan as well. These guys fit right in with that sound and feel - different instrumentation, obviously. But similar song writing style/structure.
Gets a 5 from me.
Thanks for the great comments Rohan. I'm going to get some Steve Miller Band back in my playlist. I'd never really thought about it but there is definitely something there.
DeleteI liked the beginning and the end of the album - it got me drumming my feet and felt the middle was a little more subdued. It was a good listen overall.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I had not heard of them before.
ReplyDeleteNow, I really don't know. I am confused. I liked the album a lot. A lot. It was surprising, unexpected, funny sounds, nice rhythms and melodies, interesting mix of influences.
And I listened to it many times.
And then, suddenly, I became fed up of it. Like if I had listened to it way too much. It happened more Creep in A T-shirt (#2 Track), Sea of Air and Waves. I still really appreciate a lot the 1st song a of the album (Plastic Soldiers) and Modern Jesus which has a very catchy chorus. But, less than before. I don't really know what happened?
It still a good album to me. 3.5
I listened to it a bit too much as well in the beginning. I stopped for a while and it's better now :)
DeleteI had never listened to Portugal: The Man (which I agree is a very unique name that conjures up a musical style different than what you actually hear) and enjoyed quite a few of the songs on the album. Above average at a 3.5 - thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteholy crapoli this album is ri-goddamn-diculously good. i can't get it out of my head, and have been listening to it non-stop since Francois posted it (at the expense of other musooklub albums)
ReplyDeletei feel cooler for knowing about it. and that's what really matters.
...seriously, this is the kind of gem that something like musooklub helps uncover (thanks Frenchie...i mean Francois).
the bar has been set unusually high. Laurent needs to get over himself and keep listening to it...
It's like listening to dull. 1 for me.
ReplyDelete