Media

Portugal. The Man: Sugar Cinnamon (Audio)

7:03 p.m. · October 7, 2009 · by Ethan Stanislawski

In the crazy world of online music media, it is entirely possible for bands with good indie sales to get good reviews from big sources, but almost no attention from the internet seekers who ultimately bankroll most new bands. Portugal. The Man are a fantastic band that have released four albums since 2006, most recently 2009's The Satanic Satanist.

So allow me to correct for this little injustice. First, the superficial: Portugal. The Man has a weird band name with a weird use of punctuation. They are from the topical town of Wasila, Alaska. They have officially stated that they don't like Sarah Palin, and that she is not at all reflective of the attitudes of most Alaskans. I think Portugal. The Man sound like a combination of MGMT, Grizzly Bear, and Harvey Milk. I am of the firm opinion that Portugal. The Man are better than those bands.

Most important, the music. "Sugar Cinnamon" is a signature track of Portugal. The Man. It combines the best parts of experimental pop, indie rock, and hard rock, the borders that Portugal. The Man have been heralded for exploring in their (middling) press coverage.

"Sugar Cinnamon," from Portugal. The Man's 2007 album, Church Mouth, is fast rising on the "hot right now" chart of thesixtyone.com, a site that has been described as a "Digg for Indie Music." Portugal. The Man was noted on Mashable on Monday, and here I am blogging about it for Prefix on Wednesday.

Yes, this is rather arbitrary. But while the Internet may make it easier for good music to prevail, we are not completely there yet. Portugal. The Man deserves more attention. How much you like them, in the words of Thom Yorke, is up to you.