The Album Everyone Wants isn’t just another Chris Portka release, it’s a full-blown sonic adventure. Eleven tracks deep, the record fuses four fresh originals with seven wild reinterpretations of classics by rock n’ roll legends Syd Barrett, Skip Spence, George Jones, and more. Think of it as a road trip through the weird, wonderful back roads of American music; pedal steel melting into fuzzed-out guitars, dreamlike harmonies colliding with psychedelic noise.
Tracked between New York City’s legendary Sear Sound and Oakland’s Brothers (Chinese) Recording, the album captures both coasts at their most alive. With indie cult hero Jasper Leach (Burner Herzog, Brasil, The Symbolick Jews) in the co-producer’s chair and members of the Al Harper Band adding their magic, Portka doesn’t just play with genre, he dissolves it. The result feels like stepping into a vintage jukebox wired to another dimension: nostalgic, heartfelt, and just strange enough to feel real.
The record opens gently with “She Looks So Good Tonight.” It starts with softly picked acoustic guitar before Chris’s voice comes in. He’s singing pure admiration, romantic lyrics that honor the woman he loves. The guitars shimmer with warmth, the kind that only shows up when someone means every word. There’s magic running through the song’s atmosphere, and I think that magic is love.
“Fun in the Summer,” the most streamed track on Spotify, kicks off with melancholy whistling, a grooving bass line, and acoustic guitar. It captures that hot summer night vibe, the kind where you’re driving downtown with the top down, feeling both carefree and nostalgic.
The song leans into classic rock textures: a bright guitar solo, bluesy piano riffs, and Lou Reed-style vocals. Chris himself calls it “Lou Reed as a San Francisco burnout,” and honestly, that’s exactly right. It feels like standing on the Haight-Ashbury corner, watching old hippies and hipsters drift by while buskers play for spare change. The song keeps growing, radiating feel-good energy from start to finish.
“It Is Obvious” comes next, feeling more upbeat while keeping that same Lou Reed swagger. There’s a storytelling rhythm to the lyrics, it almost recalls Frank Turner’s delivery, especially in the vivid imagery. The guitars go wild here, laying down fuzzy, distorted riffs while the rhythm section holds a steady, confident groove. It’s a jam that feels alive and personal, like a snapshot from Chris’s own story.
When “Tennessee Whiskey” begins, it’s instantly familiar, “I used to spend my nights in a bar, liquor was the only friend I knew.” Chris sings about being saved by love, pulled back from the edge of addiction. He belts out “I stay stoned on your love all the time” with the conviction of someone who means it.
The pedal steel gives it that Southern twang, and the whole thing feels like The Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers” got reborn in 2025. The track captures the raw, unfiltered heart of rock ’n’ roll, that bittersweet mix of grit, soul, and redemption.
The album winds down with “The Observer.” It’s mellow, an acoustic ballad layered with tender piano. Chris sings about his childhood, sitting with his mother on the couch, dreaming about the future. “I’m just an observer, the one in the corner,” he admits, and by the end of the song, that line sticks with you.
There’s this moment when he sings, “I don’t want to worry about all the changes in this town,” and you can feel that quiet ache of time passing, of everything shifting. It’s simple and deeply human.
The Album Everyone Wants is romantic, reflective, and a little bit psychedelic. It’s the kind of record that feels like a secret classic — rooted in the American songbook but not afraid to drift off somewhere stranger.
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Written by Ryan Cassata
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