Menomena
Militantly unique, ingeniously intricate, and devoted to expanding the parameters of any media they encounter (their debut album packaging famously featured an origami foldout monster), Menomena courts comparisons to Radiohead—but is otherwise unparalleled.

The Helio Sequence
This Beaverton duo was among the first wave of bands in the early 00’s, to arrive at the now-prevalent radio style that might be most accurately described as sped-up shoegaze: expansive, echoey synth and pedal-pumped guitar, underpinned by a relentless disco beat. The band served as a muse to SNL’s Fred Armisen, who volunteered to shoot their video, and has since parlayed his love of all things Portland into Portlandia, an IFC miniseries.