Review Summary: Jason Mraz, but with balls.
When you have finished listening to an album and you begin to wish that it was just that bit longer, it is probably a good indicator that you are enjoying the album. This is the case with Eric Hutchinson’s first studio album,
Sounds Like This. The journey into Hutchinson’s alternative rock paradise is not long, but it definitely suffices.
Eclectic seems to be the one word that sums Eric Hutchinson the best. The album is ten tracks long, covering a usual range of human emotion, with an unusual range of genres and his songs can be described in myriad ways, though all being different they all fit comfortably into his unique style which Hutchinson has been able to master quite well. While being able to mold a large amount of genres into one album, Hutchinson's greatest strength is his sense of cohesion: every song is strong, but viewed as a collective work it is greater than the sum of its parts.
As people may have already noticed, Hutchinson and Jason Mraz both have distinct but similar voices. Though Hutchinson seem to have more range and control then Mraz giving his songs more grit. The song ‘Food Chain’ even conjures the memory of Freddie Mercury’s voice in certain sections. Hutchinson’s song content also varies from the very simple and detached ( ‘Rock N Roll’) to the sorrowful ( ‘Oh!’ ) without missing a stop.
There is only one niggle found with this album other than the length is the production. Obviously the lead single, ‘Rock N Roll’ has a very overproduced feel that makes the rest of the album look very shabby and raw in comparison though this is really just a small blot on a very giant map. The point is, Eric Hutchinson writes catchy songs, and by placing ten of these catchy tracks back to back he has made a very catchy album. The somewhat poppy sound of Hutchinson might drive away some listeners, but those who stay for the ride are going to be dying to take it over and over again. From start to finish,
Sounds Like This is an incredibly enjoyable album.
To end on a rather bad metaphor, instead of serving out one type of cookie cutter sound, Eric Hutchinson gives us an large bakery's worth of tasty treats.
