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Chances are that if you're a web video fanatic or frequent ABC morning shows, you'll recognize the name of Noah Guthrie quite well. He's the guy who College Humor made famous by sharing his ingenious reworking of hip-hop duo LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" on their site, attracting 18 million people to this day to view his original YouTube cover performance of the 2011 hit. The exposure from that one cover song in particular most certainly has to do at least partly with the massive success of his Kickstarter campaign, which had aimed to have fans of the young singer-songwriter aid in funding his debut album. "Among the Wildest Things," released on August 20, 2013, is the product of several years of writing and one greatly successful funding campaign for the immaculate YouTube artist.

For close followers of Noah's career, this work was automatically opened with welcome arms. They had been waiting for it for years, and given the past few great originals which he had posted on his YouTube page since joining the site a little while back, there was room to build up excitement for his first album-sized collection of them. The truth of the matter is, though, that just because the album was most certainly going to appeal to his few thousand hugely dedicated fans does not mean that it would strike the same enthusiastic chords with the general public. Surely, it is the much anticipated independent release of a highly-regarded homegrown artist's work, but would the production of the album actually match up with a certain quality standard that more fickle music lovers would wish to be met?

The answer to that question though, thankfully, is yes. Across the 13 tracks presented in "Amongst the Wildest Things," Noah establishes himself as a wholly credible artist and as an all-around charming and relatable personality, at that. Musically, even, it is clear that Guthrie knows who he is as an artist, and it's somewhere between earlier John Mayer records mixed with Amos Lee, Lenny Kravitz, and some sort of undeniable and unique east coast alternative charm. When listening to his album, from the undeniably catchy hook of the reflective tune "Learn from the Fall" to "The Death of Me," a jazzy rocker with a kick and a bite to it, you are listening to something that seems both wholly new and comfortably familiar at the same time.

In short, you can pick out some of his individual inspirations from artists to eras throughout the entirety of the album, though on the overall, Noah is his own artist and you can sense the unique artistry which he displays throughout his work quite well. He especially shines on his more intimate tracks where his throaty voice is able to shine, capable of telling amazing stories with a masterful ease. Such tracks include my personal favorite, the simple and sweet "Adore," as well as Americana-tinged "My Love Will Never Stray" featuring Nashville-based indie artist Amy Stroup.

All in all, in "Among the Wildest Things," Noah is besting artists two or even three times his age in a singular debut album. His songwriting and performing skills are immaculate, and any future releases of his should be looked forward to with much enthusiasm. "Among the Wildest Things" is one independent release that deserves to top the charts. I had actually been only toying with whether or not to award him a perfect score here because one would know that this release marks just the beginning of this young man's career. As he gains more experience in the industry, believe it or not, he'll be capable of even greater things, so this is just a small taste of what his full talent level will be able to produce. At the end of the day, though, it's arguable that the album is one of the catchiest, most diverse of the year, and as such, it's getting the score that it's getting today. What an artist!

Tracklist:
1. Learn from the Fall
2. Among the Wildest Things
3. Be With You
4. Call Home
5. Closer
6. Can't Move On
7. Show Me Some Mercy
8. My Favorite Kind
9. New Beginning
10. Patchwork Lover
11. My Love Will Never Stray
12. Adore
13. The Death of Me