Sunday, June 01, 2008
A+E, Music, Reviews

Eric Hutchinson

“Sounds Like This”  (Let’s Break/Warner Brothers)

Trends in popular music come and go, but “pop” music hasn’t changed dramatically in 40 years. The distinction between the two is significant: Popular music is whatever is on the charts, but “pop,” the bouncy, melody-based style that describes the output of everyone from the Beatles to Elton John and John Mayer, boasts melodic characteristics that are, in their purest sense, timeless.
 
While nothing on Eric Hutchison’s sophomore disc is likely to hit the Top 10, there’s a breezy, easygoing feel to these songs that makes them as irresistible as ice cream on a summer’s day. His clear, boyish tenor is tinged with a soulful gait somewhere between Ben Folds and Stevie Wonder that sounds familiar and comfy.

“Sounds Like This” is a little too cheery, too inoffensive—some might say fluffy—to make a lasting impression. But Hutchinson crafts 10 nifty nuggets that’ll satisfy the sweet tooth of anyone who loves to chew on a sticky pop confection. Handclaps, horns and various keyboards from Hutchinson’s partner Will Golden flesh out the sound, but nothing overwhelms the singer’s voice or the melodies that he seems to effortlessly pull from the air.
   
Only one track, the lovely McCartney-ish “It Hasn’t Been Long Enough,” breaks the four-minute barrier, and the disc clocks in at just over a half hour. While it’s unlikely Hutchison, whose career received a boost from gossip blogger Perez Hilton, has the artistic legs to keep his music viable for decades to come, his beautifully crafted pop will sound as charming and delightful 20 years from now as it does today. 3 STARS—Hal HorowitzTrends in popular music come and go, but “pop” music hasn’t changed dramatically in 40 years. The distinction between the two is significant: Popular music is whatever is on the charts, but “pop,” the bouncy, melody-based style that describes the output of everyone from the Beatles to Elton John and John Mayer, boasts melodic characteristics that are, in their purest sense, timeless.
 
While nothing on Eric Hutchison’s sophomore disc is likely to hit the Top 10, there’s a breezy, easygoing feel to these songs that makes them as irresistible as ice cream on a summer’s day. His clear, boyish tenor is tinged with a soulful gait somewhere between Ben Folds and Stevie Wonder that sounds familiar and comfy.

“Sounds Like This” is a little too cheery, too inoffensive—some might say fluffy—to make a lasting impression. But Hutchinson crafts 10 nifty nuggets that’ll satisfy the sweet tooth of anyone who loves to chew on a sticky pop confection. Handclaps, horns and various keyboards from Hutchinson’s partner Will Golden flesh out the sound, but nothing overwhelms the singer’s voice or the melodies that he seems to effortlessly pull from the air.
   
Only one track, the lovely McCartney-ish “It Hasn’t Been Long Enough,” breaks the four-minute barrier, and the disc clocks in at just over a half hour. While it’s unlikely Hutchison, whose career received a boost from gossip blogger Perez Hilton, has the artistic legs to keep his music viable for decades to come, his beautifully crafted pop will sound as charming and delightful 20 years from now as it does today. 3 STARS—Hal Horowitz