Portugal.The Man - Waiters: You Vultures!! - Fearless
Portugal. The Man’s debut album, Waiter: “You Vultures!” is as random as the band’s name. The album jumps back and forth between energetic piano-driven power pop and slower angst-ridden ballads. The first track, “How the Leopard Got Its Spots”, is not a phenomenal start to the album; it reeks of mediocrity. It sounds like a typical power-pop song from any of the many easy-to-forget identical power pop bands. Yet, it is what every good pop song should be: extremely catchy. The following three songs are a bit slower but they are just as boring.
It is not until the fifth track, “Marching with 6” that Portugal. The Man begins to spark some interest. The conversation-like vocals propel the song forward into a fast-paced dance worthy frenzy that collapses into the almost whispered intro of the following song. The seventh track is another slow ballad but considerably more interesting than those from the beginning of the album as it climbs to its pinnacle before backing off once again just in time for the in-your-face start to the following song.
The eighth track, “Chicago”, is one of the best on the album. The sudden, seemingly bipolar shifts in the volume and feeling of the music keep you listening, unable to anticipate when the next shift will occur. The crossing vocals make it beautiful in a soft-spoken elegance while the noisy electronic pieces make the song sound both angry and sorrowful at the same time. The majority of the second half of the album manages to keep this interest alive with similar highs and lows.
Like a lot of the songs on it, the album has its highs and its lows. You just have to get yourself through the first half of the album to come to that realization.
Nothing thrilling, nothing terrible. I give it a B-.
-Talia Sandwick
