A one-hit wonder or not? Alaskan band Portugal. The Man are an interesting case in this regard. Well-known in the indie/alternative scene for many years, first hitting the American Top 40 albums chart in 2013, it wasn’t until 2017 that they entered the mainstream with their hit single ‘Feel It Still’. Their hit song in many charts across the world, this indie pop banger has racked up well over a billion streams on Spotify. While other songs such as ‘So Young’ and follow-up release ‘Live in the Moment’ have achieved very strong numbers on for an indie band, they pale in comparison to what has made them a one-hit wonder in the eyes of many.
Sampling The Marvelettes’ iconic 60s hit ‘Please Mr. Postman’, the song was the second single from their album ‘Woodstock’ (also their most successful album to date). Frontman John Gourley’s vocals are what stand here, with his impressive falsetto making many believe that it is sung by a woman! Similarly, the song’s instantly recognisable bassline from Zachary Carothers make the song bounce along in a carefree manner that surely aided its ability to be added to several films and TV adverts at the time – a key reason to its success. I first heard this song whilst listening to BBC Radio 1 sometime just before Christmas 2017. In bed with a cold, this song instantly grabbed my attention and I was sure it would be in for big things in the new year. At this point, the song had only scraped the lower rungs of the UK Top 100 – and would later to peak at #3 over here in 2018.
While the aforementioned ‘Live in the Moment’ and their next album’s lead single ‘Dummy’ also attempt to capture the indie-pop crossover spirit of ‘Feel It Still’, Portugal. The Man unfortunately haven’t been able to capture the virality of their hit single since. Their new music is certainly worth checking out though, with ‘Chris Black Changed My Life’ easily being one of my favourite albums of last year.
