Often an artist’s hometown pours over into their art. On Garrett Thornton’s new album, “Salt of the Earth,” the local characters and sights of State Line, Miss., get their own voice.

Growing up the son of a truck driver and music teacher in rural South Mississippi, Thornton’s southern surroundings were as much a part of his blood as music was.

Today, Thornton is launching his music career with a do-it-yourself attitude and a wonderful home-recorded first album full of eclectic, hook-filled songs that is already generating some buzz from local critics. The album, recorded at his home this past winter, is by and large, “stylistically a folk album,” according to Thornton, but the roots go much deeper. Tunes like “Lucy and Anabelle” have an almost rockabilly shuffle at its core, while “Hellhounds” is a steel guitar driven bluesy piece. Other songs, like the open, “Coyotes” is a sparse acapella tune featuring only Thornton.

As a local State Line favorite, Thornton is known for his shoot-from-the-hips style of honest songwriting. Thornton is also planning a follow-up EP to his debut album to be released some time during the summer of 2011. Currently, he predominantly brings his one-man show, playing coffee shops, small venues and bars around the Southeast, and is setting out on a summer solo acoustic show to unveil some of his tunes from “Salt of the Earth.” Make sure to catch Garrett Thornton as he performs at Eighth & Rail in Opelika on Thursday, Aug. 11, at 9:30 p.m. Drop by garrettthornton.com to stream or purchase his entire new album, and check out some more local tour dates from this young up-and-coming artist.