Portland-via-Alaska band Portugal. The Man doesn't just punctuate its name oddly. It's been infusing recordings with a wonderful dose of quirk for several years now, making the nebulous genre of "experimental music" more accessible.
However, the old "too much of a good thing" adage may apply to the group's newest release. Portugal's effort to bring psychedelic soul to the masses is a noble one, but as an album, The Satanic Satanist isn't terribly cohesive. If you can get past the disjointedness, though, there are plenty of weird and charming moments to embrace.
"People Say," the opening track, proves that hipsters can be hippies as well, fusing a funky, Southern rock-style jam with a melody that's descended straight from some of the most memorable Britpop anthems of the late '90s, such as Oasis' "Don't Look Back in Anger."
"Guns and Dogs" adds a strange and lovely sprinkling of keyboard to a melody that sounds similar to Tom Petty's "Last Dance With Mary Jane." "Do You" returns to Britpop sounds, resulting in a somewhat trippy permutation of Supergrass or the Charlatans that bounces between simple, restrained moments with a folk-rock vibe and interludes made for rocking out but not necessarily spacing out.
