Evil Friends

Evil Friends is the seventh full-length album by the Alaskan rock band Portugal. The Man. It was released on June 4, 2013 through Atlantic Records.[1] It is the band's first collaboration with producer Danger Mouse.

Evil Friends
Studio album by
Portugal. The Man
ReleasedJune 4, 2013 (2013-06-04)
Genre
Length48:35
LabelAtlantic
ProducerDanger Mouse
Portugal. The Man chronology
In the Mountain in the Cloud
(2011)		 Evil Friends
(2013)		 Woodstock
(2017)
Singles from Evil Friends
  1. "Evil Friends"
    Released: April 1, 2013
  2. "Purple Yellow Red and Blue"
    Released: April 23, 2013
  3. "Modern Jesus"
    Released: August 30, 2013

The album was promoted by the singles "Evil Friends", "Purple Yellow Red and Blue" and "Modern Jesus". It received favorable reviews from music critics, and charted in the US, Austria, Germany, France and Switzerland.

Promotion

Throughout early 2013, Portugal. The Man teased Evil Friends by leaking pictures on the official Bonnaroo Tumblr page, which showed that celebrated producer Danger Mouse (best known for his work with MF Doom, Gnarls Barkley, Jack White and Broken Bells, and for producing award-winning albums for artists like Gorillaz, The Black Keys and Norah Jones), was producing Portugal. The Man's new record.[2]

On February 25, 2013, the band revealed the title of the album on Instagram.[3] On March 6, the band revealed the album art for Evil Friends using a Tweet-To-Reveal Mosaic.

In the months leading up to the release of the album, John Gourley posted dozens of photos on the band's Instagram and Tumblr feeds featuring portraits of high-profile celebrities and musicians, including Thom Yorke and Kendrick Lamar, overlaid with his satanic illustrations. The band partnered with Aviary web application suite to release a sticker pack of the various elements in these drawings, allowing fans to create their own #EvilFriends portraits and upload them to Instagram.[4]

On May 29, 2013 the band held a party in partnership with Tumblr at LAB ART Los Angeles that showcased the artwork of The Fantastic The (John Gourley and Austin Sellers) and the photography of Danger Mouse, and featured a GIF-ITI mural collaboration between John Gourley and street artist INSA. Evil Friends was simultaneously released as streaming online on the band's Tumblr page.[5]

Singles and music videos

On March 7, 2013, the band released a music video for the album's lead single and title track "Evil Friends". The video was directed by Michael Ragen.[6] The song was released to modern rock radio stations on April 1, 2013.[7]

"Purple Yellow Red and Blue" was released as the second single to promote the album on April 23, 2013.[8] A music video for the song, directed by That Go (Noel Paul and Stefan Moore), was released onto YouTube a day earlier.[9] The song was released to radio on May 20, 2013,[7] and was later featured in the soundtrack of EA Sports game, FIFA 14. The track features background vocals by Este and Danielle Haim of the American alternative rock band Haim.

On May 23, 2013, the band released a music video for "Atomic Man", directed by David Vincent Wolf.[10]

The third and final single from the album, "Modern Jesus", was released digitally on August 30, 2013.[11] On August 7, a music video directed by AG Rojas was released.[12] The song impacted modern rock radio stations on October 28, 2013.[7]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.7/10[13]
Metacritic76/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Alternative Press[16]
The Austin Chronicle[17]
The A.V. ClubB[18]
Consequence of Sound[19]
Paste8.8/10[20]
Pitchfork6.0/10[21]
PopMatters8/10[22]
Rolling Stone[23]
Spin7/10[24]

Evil Friends received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 17 reviews.[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Baldwin Gourley and Danger Mouse.

No.TitleLength
1."Plastic Soldiers"5:04
2."Creep in a T-Shirt"3:54
3."Evil Friends"3:36
4."Modern Jesus"3:14
5."Hip Hop Kids"3:28
6."Atomic Man"3:48
7."Sea of Air"4:22
8."Waves"4:52
9."Holy Roller (Hallelujah)"3:21
10."Someday Believers"3:54
11."Purple Yellow Red and Blue"4:11
12."Smile"4:51

Personnel
Portugal. The Man
  • John Baldwin Gourley – vocals, guitar, organ, synthesizers
  • Zachary Scott Carothers – bass, percussion, backing vocals
  • Kyle O'Quin – piano, synthesizers, whistle
  • Noah Gersh – guitar, percussion, backing vocals
  • Kane Ritchotte – percussion, backing vocals
Technical personnel
  • Danger Mouse – production, synthesizer,
  • Phillip Peterson - Strings, Arranging

Charts
Chart (2013) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[25] 64
French Albums (SNEP)[26] 93
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 89
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 74
US Billboard 200[29] 28
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[30] 9
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[31] 12
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References
  1. "Evil Friends". Amazon.com. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  2. "Bonnaroo Tumblr". Bonnaroo. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  3. "Portugaltheman Twitter". Twitter. February 25, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-10-01. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  4. "Portugal. The Man Reaches Fans With Evil Friends Digital Sticker App For iOS". HypeBot. April 24, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  5. Obenschain, Philip (May 30, 2013). "Portugal. The Man stream new album, 'Evil Friends,' on Tumblr". Alternative Press. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  6. "Portugal. The Man - Evil Friends [Official Music Video]". YouTube. March 7, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  7. "Modern Rock – Airplay Archive". FMQB. Mediaspan Online Services. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  8. "Purple Yellow Red and Blue - Single by Portugal. The Man". iTunes (US). Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  9. "Portugal. The Man - Purple Yellow Red & Blue [Official Music Video]". YouTube. April 22, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  10. "Portugal. The Man - Atomic Man [Official Music Video]". YouTube. May 23, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  11. "Modern Jesus - Single by Portugal. The Man". iTunes (GB). Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  12. "Portugal.The Man - Modern Jesus [Official Music Video]". YouTube. May 23, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  13. "Evil Friends by Portugal. The Man. reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  14. "Reviews for Evil Friends by Portugal. The Man". Metacritic. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  15. Jurek, Thom. "Evil Friends – Portugal. The Man". AllMusic. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  16. "Portugal. The Man: Evil Friends". Alternative Press (301): 104. July 2013.
  17. Winkie, Luke (October 4, 2013). "Portugal the Man: Evil Friends (Atlantic)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  18. Thurm, Eric (June 4, 2013). "Portugal. The Man: Evil Friends". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  19. Mejia, Paula (June 5, 2013). "Album Review: Portugal. The Man – Evil Friends". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  20. Bort, Ryan (June 4, 2013). "Portugal. The Man: Evil Friends". Paste. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  21. Thompson, Paul (June 11, 2013). "Portugal. The Man: Evil Friends". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  22. Blum, Jordan (June 6, 2013). "Portugal. The Man: Evil Friends". PopMatters. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  23. Powell, Mike (July 22, 2013). "Evil Friends". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  24. "SPIN's Review Roundup: 100 Lengthy and Tweet-Sized Takes on June 2013's New Releases". Spin. July 10, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  25. "Austriancharts.at – Portugal. The Man – Evil Friends" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  26. "Lescharts.com – Portugal. The Man – Evil Friends". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  27. "Officialcharts.de – Portugal. The Man – Evil Friends". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  28. "Swisscharts.com – Portugal. The Man – Evil Friends". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  29. "Portugal. The Man Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  30. "Portugal. The Man Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  31. "Portugal. The Man Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
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