Portugal. The Band

Portugal. The Man is not a country or a man. It's a really great rock and roll band originally from a little town called Wasilla. It wasn't until after they left Alaska for Portland, Oregon that the band really caught fire, touring the U.S. and Europe for ecstatic fans that dug their intelligent songs and their rockingly soulful sound.

The band's new album, Satanic Satanist, was released in July to wide critical acclaim. And there's a lot to like. There's a spirit of renewal in Satanic Satanist that's hard to deny. Songs like "The Home," which repeats over and over, the line, "I will make my home here," and "Guns and Dogs" both seem to be settling the same argument, and (possibly) recounting the times the mates partook in the all-American pastime of picking up and changing place. Which is not to say the album contains a strong sense of place; more, it creates strong moods, most obviously in the songs "The Woods" and "Morning," which are both excellent.

Now that the new album has legs of its own, you better believe the band will be doing some walking of its own. They plan to tour extensively in the fall.