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Portugal. The Man @ Austin City Limits[/caption]
. : : October 30th, 2013 : : .
When Portugal. The Man performed at Austin City Limits in 2013, they were still three and a half years away from their breakout single, Feel It Still. By this time, I'd already seen the band perform a few times and if you told me that by 2018 the band would be nominated (and win!) a Grammy Award for Best Pop Group Performance, I wouldn't believe you.
That's not to speak on their talent or their worthiness of such prestige -- On the contrary, I thought they were fantastic! But they were heavy, and psychedelic, and more than a bit avaunt-guard. Their debut album, Waiter: "You Vultures!" featured the song AKA M80 The Wolf, one of my favourite rock songs of the decade. Their follow up disc, Church Mouth, was experimental, bluesy, and challenging.
Their third album, Censored Colors, is when a pop-sensibility seemed to start to sneak in. But to the extent that they'd be Grammy-worthy? Seemed highly unlikely.
At that point, they were releasing new albums' worth of material annually and continued to do so for their first six discs(!). It wasn't until the Danger Mouse-produced Evil Friends, released in 2013 and the album being promoted on this ACL performance, that the band began taking time between album cycles.