In the Mountain in the Cloud

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In the Mountain in the Cloud
In the Mountain in the Cloud.jpg
Studio album by Portugal. The Man
Released July 19, 2011 (2011-07-19)
Recorded Summer 2010 – March 2011
Studio
Genre Psychedelic rock, progressive rock, glam rock, art rock
Length 44:00
Label Atlantic
Producer John Hill, John Gourley, Casey Bates
Portugal. The Man chronology
American Ghetto
(2010)American Ghetto2010		 In the Mountain in the Cloud
(2011)		 Evil Friends
(2013)Evil Friends2013
Singles from In the Mountain in the Cloud
  1. "Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)"
    Released: May 17, 2011[1]
  2. "So American"
    Released: October 7, 2011[2]

In the Mountain in the Cloud is the sixth studio album by Alaskan psychedelic rock band Portugal. The Man. It was recorded over a period of eight months, and produced by John Hill, the band's frontman John Gourley, and Casey Bates. The album was released on July 19, 2011 through Atlantic Records and is Portugal. The Man's major-label debut.

The album was promoted by the singles "Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)" and "So American". It received favorable reviews from music critics, and charted in the US, Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

Background and recording

In the Mountain in the Cloud is Portugal. The Man's major-label debut, as the band was signed to Atlantic Records in April 2010,[3][4] shortly after the release of its fifth studio album American Ghetto, the creation of which took only 10 days.[5]

Portugal. The Man started the relationship with the label by lying that the songs for the sixth studio album were ready. As the band had a more "generous" timeline than in the past, they went to Seattle to work on some songs, and came out with only one. Then they joined producer John Hill in a studio in El Paso, where they managed to write one song, "Floating (Time Isn't Working My Side)". The band members noticed that for the first time they weren't able to communicate,[4][5] and decided they needed some space to regroup.[5] Hill and singer/songwriter John Gourley went to New York, while other members of the band returned to Portland. Gourley would call them to say what he needed, and they would record and e-mail, however, the distance complicated communication even further. In a midway of the creative process, Gourley said to Hill during an argument that he was going to quit the band and "go back to Alaska and build houses."[4]

In an interview with MTV News, Gourley said that the band "wrote the album, did pre-production and then everything fell apart." The band would go into the studio, "mess everything up," leave the studio to go on tour, and then try again.[6] "All Your Light (Times Like These)" was written in San Diego, "Head Is a Flame (Cool With It)" – in Los Angeles, and "Sleep Forever" was written in Seattle, where the band worked with an old friend, producer Casey Bates. After several months of struggle the record started to take shape. The recording of In the Mountain in the Cloud was wrapped in March 2011, after eight months.[4]

Release

The release of the album was announced on April 29, 2011, with an official release date of July 19, 2011.

On May 17, 2011, four versions of pre-order packs were made available, all with an immediate download of the song "Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)". "Just the Music" pack consisted of a deluxe edition CD, a vinyl or digital download. In addition to the CD, white vinyl or digital download, "Deluxe Pack" also had a T-shirt, while "Premium Pack" included a T-shirt, a set of three Field Journals and two patches. A "Limited Edition Pack", consisting of a specially packaged CD and white vinyl, digital download, T-shirt, lithograph and the set of three Field Journals and two patches, was also released in a number of 500 copies.[citation needed]

Promotion and Short Film

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Starting April 7, 2011, Portugal. The Man started posting new music via their YouTube account.

  • "Once Was One" (April 7, 2011) - 30-Second Preview
  • "All Your Light" (April 14, 2011) - 30-Second Preview
  • "So American" (April 21, 2011) - 30-Second Preview
  • "You Carried Us (Share With Me The Sun)" (April 26, 2011) - 30-Second Preview
  • "Got it All (This Can't Be Living Now)" (April 29, 2011) - Full Stream
  • "Sleep Forever" (May 5, 2011) - Full Stream

On May 27, 2011, Portugal. The Man posted these samples for streaming via Soundcloud.

On June 6, 2011, Portugal. The Man released a short film entitled "Sleep Forever" via IFC. The film acted as an extended music video for the songs "Sleep Forever" and "Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)". The film depicted frontman John Baldwin Gourley on a dog-sled, riding through the Alaskan wilderness. At one point, the dogs go missing and John runs off to look for them. He trips in the snow and his gun discharges and kills him. While lying in the snow, one of his missing dogs starts to eat John while he sings "Got It All". During that song, the scene switches from the dog eating John and him singing in an igloo behind a fire. Then, the camera sets on a mountain side with three strange lights and ends. A bit of the footage was originally shown in the 30-second previews for "Once Was One", "All Your Light (Times Like These)", "So American" and "You Carried Us (Share With Me The Sun)".

At one point, before the album was released, you could purchase Portugal. The Man iPhone cases.

The artwork for the Deluxe edition of the album is a fold-out layout, the same as their 2009 album The Satanic Satanist.

"All Your Light" is featured in a 2015 Gatorade commercial featuring NBA player Jabari Parker.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 73/100[7]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4/5 stars[8]
Alternative Press 7/10 stars[7]
Blare 3.5/5 stars[9]
Consequence of Sound C+[10]
Cinema Blend 4/5 stars[11]
Entertainment Weekly 7/10 stars[7]
Paste Magazine (8.3/10)[12]
Spin 6/10 stars[13]
Rolling Stone 3.5/5 stars[14]
Under the Gun Review 9/10 [15]

The album has gathered 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 73, based on 13 reviews.[7]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by John Baldwin Gourley. 

No. Title Length
1. "So American"   3:36
2. "Floating (Time Isn't Working My Side)"   3:36
3. "Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)"   3:46
4. "Senseless"   3:26
5. "Head Is a Flame (Cool with It)"   3:33
6. "You Carried Us (Share with Me the Sun)"   4:07
7. "Everything You See (Kids Count Hallelujahs)"   4:15
8. "All Your Light (Times Like These)"   4:26
9. "Once Was One"   4:22
10. "Share with Me the Sun"   2:44
11. "Sleep Forever"   6:19

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 60
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 97
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 70
US Billboard 200[20] 42
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[21] 11
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[22] 12

References

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  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Credits adapted from deluxe edition CD liner notes
  17. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Portugal. The Man – In the Mountain in the Cloud" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Portugal. The Man – In the Mountain in the Cloud". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Portugal. The Man – In the Mountain in the Cloud". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Portugal. The Man – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Portugal. The Man. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Portugal. The Man – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Portugal. The Man. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Portugal. The Man – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Portugal. The Man. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
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