Portugal. The Man, Telekinesis, Unknown Mortal Orchestra

There may be no more difficult question to answer in modern music than the tricky "What does Portugal. The Man sound like?" You could try by pointing to the alt-country twang on radio hit "People Say" or the experimental fuzz and toy pianos heard on Waiter: You Vultures!, or even...

By Chelsea Upton

May 19, 2011

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There may be no more difficult question to answer in modern music than the tricky "What does Portugal. The Man sound like?"

You could try by pointing to the alt-country twang on radio hit "People Say" or the experimental fuzz and toy pianos heard on Waiter: You Vultures!, or even the psychedelic harmonies on their Censored Colors album. But none of those things has much to do with the other. This Portland-by-way-of-Alaska band weaves in and out of genres with each new effort, and, with six albums already in their discography, Portugal. The Man are still finding new ground to cover.

These days, they're about to release In the Mountain in the Cloud, their seventh album in five years. While it's usually up in the air as to what songs Portugal. The Man fans will hear during a show, it's safe to say that they'll get a preview of the new material this weekend.

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