PAOLO NUTINI – SUNNY SIDE UP

Paolo Nutini possesses a voice beyond his 22 years – a milk-toned reggae baritone, nestled deep in his love for a summery tune. His Scottish heritage shows very little evidence in his brand of chilled soul, and the music on this album is an interesting mashing of styles and styling. Signed to Atlantic, it seems that the majors have a lot of faith in this stuff, which is understandable within the realm of surf-pop and that sea of ambiguity, folk-rock. Nutini’s positive lyrics and bob-up-and-down-in-the-water melodies should make a lot of people happy, particularly the girls of Northern Scotland. It is expertly produced by Ethan Johns, the warm details in the instruments complimenting his rather nice pipes very well in the mix. Despite the slick production and wholesome-as-pie ethos projected around the fellow, there’s still a lot of growing to do before this stuff sounds sure-footed and artistically interesting. The best tracks, Coming Out  Easy and Pencil Full Of Lead project a kind of wry-ness in their delivery that approaches the post-Beatles quirk of George Harrison, or Harry Nilsson. All in all, this record and Paolo’s sound are just a bit nicely nicely, we’re always waiting for that thrill injection that never quite comes.

**1/2