Austin McCutchen is a rambler; a young singer-songwriter who wanders - and who wanders with intent - and the characters, experiences and epiphanies large and small that he has along the way form the backbones of his traditionalist country songs. McCutchen wears a hat and boots, but he's no modern urban cowboy country-pop poster boy. There is dirt on his boots and sweat on the brim of his hat and his songs have a timeless quality that make them feel instantly familiar; it's the kind of authenticity that Detroit co-opts and tries to use to sell pickup trucks. McCutchen's rich baritone is the voice of a trustworthy narrator - a man whose heartache and vulnerability is palpable in the verses and whose resignation and wisdom quietly ambles around by the refrain. His writing is the kind of open-spaces Americana found in the tradition of country singers who favor the mountains of the American west over Nashville or the plains of Texas. It's a style that makes grand subjects sound intimate and small subjects sound grand, and it's all delivered in an understated, economical delivery in which no word is wasted. McCutchen is still working on his debut full-length album, but he has already established himself among the best of Los Angeles' next generation of talented artists.