No. 57 Portugal. The Man

I'm surprised I've never heard of this group before, they have some great tunes, I especially enjoy the vocals of John Gourley. This band originates from Alaska, currently lives in Portland and have their fourth album coming out in July. That's four albums in the past four years -- you don't see that much these days. I was trying to nail down a genre, but the songs are very different from each other. So I went to some other websites to see what they label Portugal. The Man and the list is as follows: indie, experimental, indie rock, progressive, rock , Post-Hardcore, Alternative, soul, blues, and folk. That's quite a list, all I know it sounds damn good.

So I'm sure you are curious about the band name as was I. Well here is the answer from Gourley. "Portugal is a man's name as "Ziggy Stardust" is David Bowie...but the country is representing a group of people- and the band is not just one person..." So I guess we won't hear from a band named The John Gourley Band anytime soon.

As I sit here writing this post, I'm still wondering how I just discovered this band, but sure glad I did. So yes you will see me watching them at Lolla. Listen to "Shade," "Lay Me Back Down," "Sapphire Magic" and "People Say." It will be good for you, I promise.

Sounds like, many bands, just listen. Alright if I had to say, it would be Mars Volta meets Sonic Youth meets early Radiohead and My Morning Jacket. That sounds about right.

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