THE humble homecoming hero entered the ring with his fists aloft, but quickly reverted to his default posture: stooping old man. This was not the same old Paolo Nutini however. You do not spend an intense two years out touring the world just to come
back the same lad you were when you left.
Nutini has developed as a performer – at this Edge Festival appearance, he appeared more comfortable than ever fronting an expanded band, though his voice, which has lost its pub-singer affectations and gained a trace of bleating quaver, has suffered from his punishing schedule, cracking as it did from time to time.
But his set received a shot in the arm with the addition of new songs and new sounds – trumpet and harmonica principally, but also some robust backing vocals. Nutini was keen to showcase what he has been up to in the two years since the release of his debut album.
Finally, we are hearing the influence of his beloved old rhythm and blues, though Mellow Down Easy is little more than a retro jam with good intentions.
Simple Things, written for his dad, has a classic country lilt, confirming that Nutini is a 21st-century pop star with one foot in the 1950s and 60s. He compounded this impression with a cheeky little country blues ode to Ritalin and a down and dirty blues with a modern conversational feel.
Nutini relishes his new sound palette, whether whipping up a mariachi frenzy or channelling Italian-American swing legend Louis Prima. It sounds like that long-awaited second album could be an interesting surprise.
The full article contains 275 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
