For anyone who was an active listener to Portugal. The Man’s Evil Friends LP, released back in 2013, and in particular stand out track ‘Purple Yellow Blue And Red’, then you surely can’t have missed the Alaskan band’s return to the Internet. Over the past few months, the project, fronted by John Gourley along with band mates (and high school friends) Zachary Scott Carothers, Kyle O'Quin and Jason Sechrist, have been sharing sumptuous cuts from their newest album Woodstock. Even if you’re a PTM first timer, you’ll most likely find it hard to resist something as blissfully joyful, yet complex, as ‘Tidal Wave’. Backed by chunky, old school hip-hop beats, Gourley soulfully paints a picture of some kind of emotional obstacle, it’s imbued with dual meanings, but somehow clarified with the dreamy line “lonely days will follow,” suggesting that this is an end of a relationship. Where this introductory verse leads us is to a wall, or more rightly a wave, of bombastic noise created by bouncing rhythms and a swing saxophone interlude. Like most of Woodstock, ‘Tidal Wave’ has a groove that you can really dig your heels into, surrounded by creative lyrics and an addictive pop-leaning melody that could open up this simmering band to a much wider audience. - HT