It’s been three years since Portugal. The Man released Evil Friends, its avant Garage/Synth Pop/Indie Rock masterwork, and embarked on its standard grueling support tour. At the time, frontman John Baldwin Gourley noted the Danger Mouse-produced Evil Friends was, in his estimation, the closest Portugal. The Man had come to representing its live persona in the studio. Evil Friends was also a triumphant return for the band, who had released an album annually for six years, beginning with their 2006 debut, Waiter: “You Vultures!” and ending with 2011’s Glam-tinged In the Mountain in the Cloud.
In the wake of its well-received sixth album, the Alaska-born/Oregon-settled band endured a number of setbacks, including the theft of its equipment van (thanks to social media and local law enforcement, nearly everything was recovered) and the defections of keyboardist Ryan Neighbors and longtime drummer Jason Sechrist. At present, Portugal. The Man consists of multi-instrumentalist Gourley and fellow founding member and bassist Zach Carothers, along with recent keyboard addition Kyle O’Quin, plus several auxiliary touring members.
The band has been active in the gap between albums. Two years ago, Portugal. The Man partnered with the Smithsonian Institute to distribute a limited-edition single titled “Sumatran Tiger” to raise awareness for the plight of the seriously threatened species; there was no digital version of the song, unless the hand-selected recipients of the song chose to reproduce it, identifying it as an “endangered song,” reinforcing the idea that only reproductive intervention can save certain segments of our planet’s wildlife. Months later, the band began teasing studio footage of them working with the Beastie Boys’ Mike D as producer and Mac Miller as a musical guest, and late last year, Portugal. The Man announced it had completed two albums, promoting each with separate hashtags on Twitter.
Earlier this year, though, the band tweeted that its new album, which still does not have an official release date, will be titled Gloomin + Doomin, a combination of the two original hashtags. The only concrete releases from Portugal. The Man came this past spring when its collaboration with Yoko Ono, “Soul Got Out of the Box,” saw the light of day on Ono’s new album, Yes, I’m a Witch Too, and more recently when Gourley’s collaboration with Drunken Masters, “Louder,” was issued.
Presumably there will be some new tunes in the setlist this time around, but it’s likely there won’t be new material at the Portugal. The Man merch booth until next year. Enjoy it live.
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