Portugal. The Man’s debut, Waiter: “You Vultures!”, was one of the best experimental pop albums in forever, a blend of taut beats, muscular hardcore, and dreamy keys held together by the emo-ish tenor of front man John Baldwin Gourley. Those elements are all present on the recent follow-up, Church Mouth (Fearless), though they’ve been toned down quite a bit. The band has said that they set out to emulate straightforward classic rock this time–Zeppelin in particular–but more often than not they come off like Kings of Leon trying to be Blonde Redhead, or vice versa. Still, Church Mouth is better than most anything else released so far this year; so long as the trio’s experiments continue to produce songs like the stomping “Bellies Are Full,” they’re welcome to keep messing around. Photo Atlas and Noelle Matthews open. a 7:30 PM, Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, 773-281-4444 or 866-468-3401, $12, $10 in advance. A –Miles Raymer
