Sludgy, sloppy and oh so old school — just look at the cover, wouldja? — Portugal. The Man's latest album, Church Mouth, is a sonic feast for fans of Led Zeppelin, the White Stripes, Santana the Mars Volta and even Wolfmother and the Polyphonic Spree. These three boys blow in from the icy isolated outpost of Wasilla, Alaska, and defy all listeners to not stomp their feet, throw shit and start a fire. Brimming with falsetto, often layered vocals and quippy song titles ("Telling Tellers Tell Me," "Sleeping Sleepers Sleep"), Church Mouth is a throwback alright, but one that sounds contemporary enough to excite a bunch of kids into wanting to explore classic rock's hefty back-catalog.
There's some amazingly catchy stuff, like the dreamy "My Mind," the would-be Southern rocker "Children" and the uncharacteristically upbeat "Dawn." Church Mouth ends, however, with a senseless two-minute excerpt from a song that doesn't even appear elsewhere on the album and quietly concludes. Regardless, I'm diggin' this thing more with every spin…
Track Listing:
1) Church Mouth
2) Sugar Cinnamon
3) Telling Tellers Tell Me
4) My Mind
5) Shade
6) Dawn
7) Oh Lord
8) Bellies Are Full
9) Children
10) The Bottom
11) Sleeping Sleepers Sleep
12) Sun Brother (excerpt)
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