Skip to content
Premieres

New Portugal. The Man MP3: “Lay Me Back Down”

080909_portugal_the_man.jpg

Before becoming the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska — the hometown of politically outspoken indie-prog four-piece Portugal. The Man. So is their new song political conspiracy, or excellent timing? We’ll let the band’s blissfully tangled, wide-screen psychedelic rock speak for itself.

“I remember things / Not many things / Don’t remember presidents / Or what they did,” vocalist John Gourley sneers before the band hit a dreamy, ooh-filled coda on “Lay Me Back Down,” a track off their third record, Censored Colors (out September 16). Panoramic guitar crashes and vocal sighs may tie them to like-minded acts such as Minus the Bear, and hints of cabaret-piano may recall Spoon and Cold War Kids, but it seems clear who the band’s really aiming for… or does it, Ms. Palin?

Now Hear This: Portugal. The Man, “Lay Me Back Down”