Evil Friends
With each era since the Nixon administration come fresh attempts to reboot the rebellions of the 1960s and 70s. Enter Portugal. The Man, who on previous albums have recorded faithful impressions of T. Rex, Bowie and the Beatles with a hazy swagger that, while not genetically unique, at least puts some distance between them and their forebears. Produced by Danger Mouse, Evil Friends has a more colorful, toylike sound than 2011’s In the Mountain in the Cloud — an asset to pop-oriented tracks like “Creep in a T-Shirt” and “Purple Yellow Red and Blue” but a stumbling block to heavier ones like “Waves” and “Holy Roller (Hallelujah),” which come off like riots attempted from inside a snow globe.