It has come to my attention that, as much as we’d all like to stand around and gape at the brilliance of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs some more, the whole point of going to music festivals is to discover new bands. Okay: One of my new favorites from Bonnaroo ’09 is the oddly-punctuated Portugal. The Man, a group originally founded in Wasilla, Alaska — yes, that Wasilla — by John Baldwin Gourley, whose parents mushed in the Iditarod, and Zachary Scott Carothers, who once went head to head with Sarah Palin over a skate park. And while it seems unlikely, I find their music even more compelling than their background.
Upcoming fourth album The Satanic Satanist (out July 21st) carries some of the stonery vibe I perceived on that rainy ‘Roo night, but now there are danceable loops and classic flower-rock choruses, too. Below, please feel free to stream an exclusive preview of sunny anthem “Everyone Is Golden,” and view a ramshackley acoustic video performance of the album’s first track, “People Say,” after the jump. Then lemme hear ya in the comments, Mixers: Are you with me on Portugal. The Man, or did I let the blisters from my galoshes compromise my critical faculties?
