Often when SLC locals move away, decamping to the likes of L.A. or New York in the hopes of making it, they become, upon that move, e.g. “L.A.-based” artists. That’s not true for Sam Burton, who, with the Oct. 30 release of his latest album I Can Go With You, also kept the "Salt Lake native" moniker in his press release’s bio. It makes sense, since he was a prolific local before he left, with many appearances on the local label Chthonic Records, by way of his popular project The Circulars, and on his own too, with releases like 2016’s Until Returning, which carried early hints of the dream-soaked longing and dusty Americana sound that comes out so fully on I Can Go With You. Dropping three singles by way of the title track, “I Am No Moon” and “Nothing Touches Me,” Burton was able to drum up excitement outside of L.A. and beyond his Utah fanbase, finding a home at folk label Tompkins Square and help from producer Jarvis Taveniere of Real Estate, Whitney and Woods notability. Blending rosy-hued Orbison-esque melancholy with the crackle of Nick Drake’s ghost, Burton’s plaintive vocals express languid indecision and seemingly offhand introspection. The way the title track lightly considers the possibility of “going,” of action, is a theme found throughout the album. On “Why Should You Take Me There,” he ponders, “why should I stay? / I’m needed no more / how can I lay down in the door? / and why should you take me there?” Swirling with warm, vintage guitars, bleary-eyed imaginings and plain spoken lyrics, most of the songs are light yet still intense emotional invocations (single “I Am No Moon” in particular). It’s a homerun for a hometown hero, and a heartwarming one, too. Here’s to Sam Burton making it. Stream it wherever you stream, or buy at tompkinssquare.bandcamp.com.