Album Review: Portugal. The Man – Shish
3 min read
Portugal. The Man (or PTM for short) have always treated the music industry like a giant art experiment — sometimes brilliant, sometimes bizarre, but always theirs. After all, this is the band that accidentally scored a global No.1 with Feel It Still while claiming they were mostly “just messing around.” Shish, released via Atlantic Records, leans right into that spirit. What started as a pile of abandoned demos, stray voice memos, and late-night moments has morphed into their tenth studio album, a transformation the Alaskan band jokingly blamed on “cosmic interference and poor impulse control.” Let’s find out if these ten tracks are pure alchemy, or a musical biohazard!!
Kicking off with Denali (the Native American name for the highest peak in the USA… in Alaska, (obvs)), we’re greeted with a cacophony of noise and riff that would be as at home in hard 90’s metal as they are here, it feels very Metallica meets Queens of the Stone age meets 80’s Bowie… and I’m into it – probably my favourite track. Four minutes and fifteen seconds later, we get the heavy hard rock (think Korn-esque) Pittman Ralliers, then treated to some early years PTM (especially during the chorus) with Angoon, and then we’re treated to some US Indie with Knik, which feels like a mix of MGMT with Connan Mockasin, and the slower tracks from Royal Otis melded together, and turns a bit early years Babylon Zoo later on – and again… I’m into this. Title track Shish rounds off the first half of the album with Japanese notes in a heavy indie track that feels a bit Weezer, but I’d totally understand if I was the only person who thinks this (lol).
Mush begins the second half of the album with more classic early 2010’s PTM sounds, plucky guitar leading to classic 2000’s US up tempo indie and a fantastic hook (“ko-nni-chi-wa”), and this is followed by distorted guitars in Tyonek which leads into a Muse-like guitars in the track, with Kokhanockers following – a track that, for me, feels a bit Beck-like (not the same level though) in its composition, and I’m not against it TBH. Penultimate track Tanana is the most laid back of the album, though it builds throughout (another strong track), and we round of proceedings with the electro reverberations of Father Gun, which quickly moves to a banger of a track with the return of the 80’s metal riffs and a kaleidoscope of noises.
Shish is a good album with some great tracks, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but there were times when it was perfect indie for me, but then it edged a little too metal for me. I loved that the album was somewhat of a homage to Alaska, and in some of the tracks you can really get a sense on the bleak harshness of the terrain, but also the beauty and the small communities from whence Portugal. The Man came. This is a very strong album but rather than add the whole thing to me downloaded list, I will be cherry picking Denali, Knik & Tanana (and maybe Mush) for my 2025 favourites – if you’re into heavier 2000’s US indie this one is a must!
