Let’s Make Eric Hutchinson Famous.

I’m a music scout. I love following the breadcrumbs to the next big thing. I love leaving in the morning with my spear to discover new music and bring it back to the tribe. Through the years I’ve asked plenty of baristas, bartenders, busboys, etc. “What song is this playing right now?” A question usually met with “Would you like me to go in back and check.” Of course I would.

I’m particularly excited about my latest find, Maryland singer songwriter Eric Hutchinson. I can’t take all the credit as I first noticed him when he had a cup of coffee atop the iTunes charts (thanks to a Perez Hilton mention) before returning to obscurity. I can speak firsthand that his CD Sounds Like This is not an easy find. You won’t find it at Target, Best Buy, or the bookstores. If you’re interested (and you should be) check www.awarestore.com as they have the CD for $10.

Yes, Eric Hutchinson is a major score. Sounds Like This is one of those CDs that is immediately familiar. At first listen most people will suspect they already know the songs. What is that Terence Trendt Darby? J Timberlake? Michael Jackson? New Jamiroquai?

Hutchinson emerges on the music scene like Bo Jackson did on the sports scene a few years back – with the patience of a comet. A “just because I can” attitude abounds on the album with Hutchinson playing the confident chameleon throughout the entire record. If you’re looking for Maroon 5 without the radio saturation, check “Outside Villanova.” If you want something Clive Davis can tap his wand to? Check the Gavin DeGraw like opener “OK, It’s Alright With Me.” Or maybe you want to get your Bill Cosby dance on with something that sounds like vintage Stevie Wonder –check “You Don’t Have to Believe Me” for some power pudding pop.

If that wasn’t enough range, Hutchinson dresses up a Jason Mraz-like sound in a grass skirt with a groovy little island beat in “Rock & Roll” complete with sing-a-long “nah nah nahs.” Or maybe it’s a little Jack Johnson sex wax you’re after, hit play on “Back to Where I was” just before you slide the lime down the neck of your Corona.

Simply put Eric Hutchinson’s Sounds Like This is a rock solid blue-eyed soul debut. Nearly all of the ten tracks are extremely radio friendly and completely listenable. More than that, the entire record has soulfulness you wouldn’t expect from a 27-year-old suburbanite.

Yes I dig the Hutchinson, and my sense is this is a CD that will slowly find its way into your wives and girlfriends’ cars. My favorite track on the record is the haunting “All Over Now” which sounds like something off Flight of the Concords if it was a Zach Braff show. “Rock & Roll” is also infectious. Even the stuff I didn’t specifically call out earlier like “Food Chain” are well crafted little tunes.

Buy stock in Eric Hutchinson immediately, this kid is going places. Get the disc.