Portugal. The ManAmerican Ghetto
Equal Vision Records [2010]
Fire Note Says: Nice surprise release from Alaskan band!
Album Review:
Like everyone out there, we were a bit surprised when we received the email late February telling us that March 2 we would be getting a copy of the new Portugal. The Man record American Ghetto for review, which was also the albums release date. There were no advance copies for review and the record was guaranteed not to leak nor have a large push from PTM's record label. Crazy right? In this day in age, probably not the craziest thing that has been done but after finally hearing American Ghetto, any doubts about its authenticity are far gone. Most of these notions came from the fact that its release was on the heals of the groups best work with last years The Satanic Satanist [2009], which landed at #20 on our best of list. It would have been easy for American Ghetto to be eleven b-sides that didn't make the cut for Satanist but instead, it is another completely fulfilling offering and contains some of their most straight forward work yet. Album closer, "When The War Ends" is one of the most catchy songs they have written, while the hooky groove on American Ghetto follows the similar stylings of Satanist. The only thing that separates the two albums apart is where Satanist had almost seamless transitions and consistent flow, Ghetto struggles a bit more track to track. With that said, American Ghetto is another stellar offering from Portugal. The Man and clearly showcases them at a creative high point right now. It also is nice to see that this record was a big thank you to fans, as they were among the first to hear it this go around. The physical album is not coming out till May but fans should not wait to pick this up digitally, because I guarantee it will be an added favorite to their player and PTM's catalog!
Key Tracks: "60 Years", "All My People", "When The War Ends"
Bands With Similar Fire:
Beck
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
TV On The Radio
Portugal. The Man: The Satanic Satanist [Fire Note Review 7/22/09]
Official Portugal. The Man Website
Portugal. The Man MySpace
Portugal. The Man Facebook
Equal Vision Records
-Reviewed by Reece Michael
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