Eric Hutchinson looks like the kind of guy you can trust – honest, approachable, somehow familiar. There’s just something about him that invites you to give up your innermost thoughts. And complete strangers don’t hesitate to do so.
Although he’s been favorably compared to his early idols (Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Paul Simon), one of the most remarkable things about Sounds Like This is the sheer breadth of musical styles Hutchinson effortlessly encompasses. His ease is perhaps inherited from his grandmother, who played viola in a local orchestra, backing everyone from Tony Bennett to Aretha Franklin as they came through town. From the buoyant album opener, “Ok, It’s Alright With Me” to the thoughtful “Back to Where I Was,” depicting two friends at crossroads in their respective lives, to the soulful “You’ve Got You,” the self-described student of pop music fuses divergent styles into a sound he alone owns. Hutchinson’s vocals veer from a gritty growl to a shimmering falsetto on “Outside Villanova,” which gives way to the jazzy “Food Chain,” wherein the narrator comes to terms with a relationship marred by lies and broken expectations.
Follow the artist and hear his music at:
myspace.com/erichutchinson
