Paolo Nutini
These Streets

By Andy Argyrakis

His name may be Italian, but Paolo Nutini was born and bred in Paisley, Scotland. Though his original dream was to play soccer professionally as a goalkeeper, the tunesmith landed a job as roadie, T-shirt salesman and occasional opening act for a friend’s band at a mere 16-years-old. Now 19, he’s turned to singing and writing full time, issuing the Live Sessions EP late last year. Though he’s already gaining steam in England, the newcomer’s influences aren’t the traditional Brit-pop favorites you might expect. Instead he turns to vintage soul and R&B, citing Ray Charles, Ben E. King and even Van Morrison as primary muses, all of which creep into his ten-track disc without going overboard. His blue-eyed soul is especially apparent on “Last Request,” while jazzy leanings permeate “New Shoes.” But the acoustic arrangements in “Rewind” and “Loving You” make this far less an urban affair and more appropriate for a laid-back coffeehouse setting.

While his rich vocals and inviting strums score high marks, there are a handful of tunes where Nutini veers towards the all-out derivative. The piano ballad “Autumn” and the falsetto-laden “Million Faces” are directly reminiscent of James Blunt while falling significantly below his more original outpourings. Luckily, there’s redemption with the eight-minute combo track “Alloway Groove/Northern Skies,” which begins as an R&B romp and simmers with sparse strums and chilled out vocals. This official debut may not push all the right buttons, but it does connect enough to warrant attention.