By Justin Carroll-Allan | For The Oregonian/OregonLive

Portland's Portugal The Man knew what fans might think of their new album, "Woodstock," and they prepared accordingly.

Earlier this year, the band released T-shirts that read: "I Liked Portugal The Man Before They Sold Out." The band is obviously being self-deprecating, but a sliver of its fan base has been bemoaning this very thing. The band's single "Feel It Still" is No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs chart, is the soundtrack for Apple's new iPad Pro commercial, and will most likely be one of the first songs played on Pandora's "Hipster Cocktail Party" playlist.

Make no mistake: Portugal The Man is making a calculated move to dominate the fickle world of pop rock, and if "Feel It Still" is any indication, they might just pull it off. It would be easy to dismiss Portugal The Man as a catch-the-moment act, Frankensteined together by some Atlantic Records artist development team, but the band has been churning out music consistently since 2006; more importantly, they've challenged themselves to grow musically with every project. Their sound may be perfect for today's pop music landscape, but that's because they've been patient and uncompromising in their drive to evolve and let the zeitgeist find them.

Front man John Gourley and bassist Zachary Carothers founded Portugal The Man from the ashes of Anatomy of a Ghost, a Portland-based screamo band. Anatomy of a Ghost released one album, "Evanesce," in 2003 and it sounded, well, like a screamo record: loud guitars, frantic vocals, bloodcurdling screams, and an obligatory breakdown in each song.

Portugal The Man's 2006 debut album, "Waiters: You Vultures!," was a startling departure, flirting with progressive-minded, emo-tinged rock, and already showing a penchant for poppy hooks and melodies that are hard to shake.

The band's second full-length album, "Church Mouth," was a love letter to the South -- a risky move, as a tribute might be too derivative of the thing it's trying to honor. Portugal The Man pulled it off with ease. The opening guitar lick on "Telling Tellers Tell Me" sounds both unique and like something Gregg Allman might've written in Georgia in '71, two hours into an acid trip. The record is full of sweet, psychedelic grooves, and displays the strength of Gourley's signature falsetto. Rather than building toward chaotic, clamoring crescendos, the songs focus more on catchy riffs, harmonies and infectious hooks.

With the next three albums -- "Censored Colors," "The Satanic Satanist," "American Ghetto" -- the band really found its sound. These albums, distributed by Equal Vision Records through an unusual deal that allowed Portugal The Man to shoulder greater risk (and reward) with full artistic freedom, showed Gourley and Carothers expanding musical elements into their songwriting. They'd lost their frantic prog rock tendencies but found a sort of spacey pop that fit Gourley's voice perfectly. Unlike some songs on previous albums, which showed an unwillingness to slow down, the new songs weren't afraid to have quiet, still moments, brave enough to not hide behind 10-foot-tall guitar riffs. "The Woods," off 2009's "Satanic Satanist," is about as perfect as a pop song can be.

Around this time, Atlantic was courting the band, and Portugal The Man was the big name on the marquee when they toured.

The 2011 album "In The Mountain In The Cloud" and 2013's "Evil Friends" stayed true to Portugal The Man's brand of psych pop but made it leaner, more efficient -- kicking the habit of noodling without a purpose or holding a note for 30 seconds too long. "Evil Friends," produced by Danger Mouse, jumps around sonically but still takes advantage of Portugal The Man's ability to live in good melodies.

After working with Mike D. from the Beastie Boys the past four years, the band decided to start fresh for "Woodstock," released in June. When it came down to it, Portugal The Man knew that to make a great new album, they'd have to start from scratch, rather than patching together a handful of "good enough" tracks they'd written for Mike D. "Woodstock" features bombastic drums and big, anthematic songs perfect for sweating away the afternoon while hate-scrolling through the president's Twitter feed. It's a protest record that accomplishes what Portugal The Man has been working this whole time to do: Create something of beauty that the world will want to hear.

Portugal The Man plays the Doug Fir Lounge on July 21 and McMenamins Edgefield on July 22. If you make the trip, you'll notice that they aren't opening for anyone else -- they're headlining, and everyone is going to be there to see them.

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PORTUGAL THE MAN



All-ages show: 9 p.m. Friday, July 21 (The Last Artful, Dodgr opens), Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E. Burnside St. $25, sold out, dougfirlounge.com or 503-231-9663

Edgefield Concerts on the Lawn: All ages, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 22 (The Shivas and Cat Hoch open), McMenamins Edgefield, 2126 S.W. Halsey St., Troutdale. Sold out; 800-514-3849