Premiere: Chris Portka – ‘Hey buddy, can you spare $74k / year?’

Releasing this Thursday from Chris Portka, Hey buddy, can you spare $74k / year? finds the Oakland-based artist traversing across a variety of soundscapes and styles. Per Portka, the eight tracks throughout aim to capture “that California space desert vibe with some psychedelic impressionism.” Opener “Echo in the Desert” expands gently with a textural glow, as creaking guitars and percussive pitter-patter definitely echo that aforementioned desert feeling. Elsewhere, “Pad” features elongated, ruminating distortion with a psych-friendly rhythmic crunch. “Ambient Jazz Metal” is a slice of thunderous psych-rock, with vibes reminiscent of The Flaming Lips. Hey buddy, can you spare $74k / year? shows a successful textured, experimental sound.