As of mid-February, with weeks to go before the start of their co-headlining tour that stops at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on Sunday night, the members of alt-J and Portugal. The Man had yet to meet. The bands are both on Atlantic Records, are arguably the preeminent practitioners of art pop on their respective sides of the Atlantic Ocean and chose band names that beg explanation as well as slightly extra attention to punctuation and capitalization.
The latter is a small thing to ask considering the attention both bands pay to composition and recording. Their baroque pop and rock foundations are sympathetic to a spectrum of musical styles, with England’s alt-J layering vocal harmonies and experimenting with effects while Portland’s Portugal finding the perfect sonic space to inhabit where indie rock, modern dance-pop, and psychedelia meet.
What alt-J keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton refers to as a “two-month long blind date” brings together two complementary acts who were both practically blindsided by success but retained clear creative visions afterward. As Portugal bassist Zach Carothers indicated during a Feb. 17 interview with Unger-Hamilton for online publication Consequence, fans tend to love both bands.
Portugal. The Man Photo by: Maclay Heriot
Portugal. The Man has a slightly longer history. Carothers and multi-instrumentalist John Gourley began making music together as high-school students in Wasilla, Alaska, during Sarah Palin’s second term as mayor. By 2004, they had formed Portugal. The Man, expanded it to a quintet and relocated to Portland where they quickly set about recording demos and arranging tours. They released their eccentric, eclectic debut album Waiter: “You Vultures!” through Fearless Records in 2006.
One year later, alt-J formed at Leeds University, taking the name from a PC keyboard command for a triangle symbol. It would become a trio when guitarist/bassist Gwilym Sainsbury left in 2014 but began making music in their dorm rooms as a quartet featuring art majors Joe Newman on vocals and guitar and Thom Green on drums, and literature-focused Unger-Hamilton. Debut album An Awesome Wave demonstrated a mastery of layering and pastiche, with a palette of music influences from acoustic and analog to amplified and digitized. Tracks such as “Breezeblocks” and “Tessellate” garnered enough attention and acclaim to earn alt-J a prestigious Mercury Prize.
Latest album The Dream shows more progression in an avant-garde direction, with innovations in combining vocals and instruments with amps and effects leading to adventurous sounds and iconoclastic songs. Portugal just released latest single “What, Me Worry?,” an homage to Mad magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman. It’s imbued with the spirit that fired up Portugal’s 2017 monster hit “Feel It Still” but feels completely fresh, testifying to Portugal’s ongoing evolution and penchant for not taking things too seriously.
Neither Portugal. The Man or alt-J are likely to lead with egos when deciding who plays first. It’s more likely they’ll make guest appearances during each other’s sets than attempt to blow each other off the stage. That quest belongs to Los Angeles trio Cherry Glazerr, which opens the Virgin concert show as special guest.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, 7 p.m. April 3, starting at $49 plus tax and fee. virginhotelslv.com
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