Live Review: FEATURE ARTIST: Portugal. The Man

It’s hard to believe that, on one fateful Sunday night, playing FIFA 12 on my PS3, I would be introduced to one of the most underrated bands that fall under the psychedelic indie genre: PORTUGAL. THE MAN.

Despite the worldwide and mainstream popularity of the FIFA video games, developer, EA, do an emphatic job of carefully selecting artists who are often little known to gamers, to feature on their annual soundtrack. Over the years, this has opened the door to fame for many artists including Kasabian, Editors, The Enemy, MGMT, Muse, and Fat Boy Slim.

The two-sentence-titled band’s tune ‘Got It All’ features on the latest FIFA soundtrack and it’s instantly catchy, with an upbeat melody and psychedelic tones. At this point, however, I was still unsure whether these guys were the real deal, or were they simply going to be chucked into the same basket as the Naked and Famous, Passion Pit, and Foster the People.

And then I wiped the egg off my face.

Their track ‘People Say’ displays the musical talents that the band possesses. You could be forgiven for thinking that the intro guitar riff was being played by Noel Gallagher from Oasis, or the verse was written by Rivers Cuomo of Weezer.  My feelings were reiterated with tracks such as the wonderfully addictive ‘Senseless’, the brilliant ‘So American’, and the soothing ‘Sleep Forever’.

This Alaskan-based band of the Portuguese variety are well and truly a band to watch out for in 2012.

Words by Simon Frazer.

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