In 2007, he reached his peak, and has been slowly becoming obsolete in the music world, but now (solely due to this publication) he will make his comeback. He is the male Colbie Caillat, just unknown. Eric Hutchinson grew up in Maryland suburbs, where he first started his career, but he then attended Emerson College in Boston, which is where he really made a name for himself. With Emerson’s radio station and Boston’s atmosphere, (yes, let’s take credit for his “success”) Hutchinson found his niche in a genre that is a mix of pop and jazz, similar to John Mayer and Gavin DeGraw. Unfortunately, he has not found the stardome Mayer has, (probably due to his subpar looks in comparison to Mayer’s) but he has captured the same, upbeat sound that rock lovers will hate, but everyone else will like.
Hutchinson’s number one song on iTunes is, Rock & Roll, which can be attributed to its appearance in (everyone’s favorite) Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. His first album, Sounds Like This, has ten poppy, upbeat tracks, which contain some of his most popular songs. After the 2007 release, Perez Hilton blogged about his album, which is where Hutchinson recieved most fans from (so to all four people who read this, let’s do the same). Even when Hutchinson is singing mellow lyrics, the background music makes it an at least enjoyable track, like Food Chain. OK, is Alright With Me is one of Hutchinson’s most memorable tracks on the album with it’s extremely poppy vibe and ability to get stuck in your head…all the time. Rock & Roll is overwhelmingly upbeat, almost annoying at times, but it’s the kind of music people are looking for. Sounds Like This is more of a summer album, where most people are happy, because listening to this album in the winter might almost depress people. At some points, the album acheives some hilarity with, Oh! The track’s lyrics provide humor to the album if you really listen closely to what Hutchinson is saying.
Hutchinson’s second, and last album produced, released last year, Moving Up Living Down was once again briefly covered by Perez Hilton’s blog, giving him good reviews for the second time. The album has the same upbeat, happy sound that Sounds Like This encaptured, but this time it seems to be a little more soulful. The album’s only single, Wathcing You Wathcing Him is a little slow for Hutchinson, but is an overall good song (but nothing special.) But what that lacks, The People I Know and Lisa make up for. The two have a little more substance and bite to them, (yes, Food Network is on my mind) and are reminiscent of Hutchinson’s pervious album.
Hutchinson’s main feel is more summer orientated with its upbeat, pop focus. Though he hasn’t been featured in the Top 40, if he’s smart, he’ll release his next album in June, to give everyone what they’re looking for. With the last two albums, Hutchinson has released too late with August 28, and too early with April. Someone needs to tell him June is his go-to month to aim for. If he finds success with a next album, it’ll be in the summer, and it’ll be a big hit.
Hutchinson’s official music video to Rock & Roll, is an awkward production that lacks the quality of Walpole High’s Film Festival.
