Portugal. The Man are a band constantly on the move, one that refuses to sit still. Over the last decade, the once Alaska outsiders turned Portland mainstays have morphed into one of rock’s most enigmatic festival dominators, racking up more than 1,600 shows with a sound that’s equal parts psych-pop spectacle and political pulse-check. Their 2017 breakout Woodstock unleashed “Feel It Still,” the seven-times-platinum earworm that bulldozed the Top 40 and landed them a Grammy. But beneath the hooks and hardware, their heartbeat has always been activism, a commitment of who they are, not an accessory to the music.

On SHISH, they sharpen that dual identity into something heavier, louder, and 100% rooted in where they came from. The band’s long-standing devotion to social justice, embodied through their Pass The Mic Foundation launched in 2020, is the gravitational force pulling these songs toward something bigger. Pass The Mic’s focus on Indigenous rights, community health, and environmental justice, especially in Alaska, echoes through the record like ancestral voices.

The lead single “Denali” erupts from the jump with a massive, snarling riff. It’s Portugal. The Man at their toughest. The song rides a swaggering groove that feels like marching into battle knowing you’ll come out the victor. Named for the mountain that looms large in both geography and identity, “Denali” is an ode to home, Alaska’s wild beauty, its Native peoples, and the ongoing fight to protect what history has tried to erase. It’s a moment in time that feels like the band reclaiming their own mythology, forcing it back into the world with renewed force.

SHISH leans into this energy with the band sounding more urgent than they have in years. If Woodstock captured resistance in pop form, this album claws toward something more primal. The grooves hit harder. The guitars drill deeper. The themes cut closer to the bone. Portugal. The Man are officially back. And they’re still blazing.