The last time that Paolo Nutini was on the public stage, he was knocking out fine blue-eyed soul and having substantial hits like “Scream (Funk my Life Up)”. That was eight years ago though.
His new disc, Last Night in the Bittersweet sees Nutini undergo something of a change of direction from the Caustic Love album, by dropping the brass and taking a considerably more rockist approach, while noticeably turning up the Scottish accent in his singing voice. This double album also brings with it a host of unexpected influences, from early Eighties Celtic rock to mid-Seventies kosmiche, new wave, folk and classic rock. In fact, a diversity of styles is what Nutini seems to be about now that his musical hiatus is over and there’s even a bit of Peter Sarstedt on recent single, “Though the Echoes”.
There are also plenty of ballads on Last Night in the Bittersweet, from the strings-powered “Julianne” to, the more folkie “Writer” and the Rod Stewart-influenced “Everywhere”. That’s not to say that Nutini hasn’t been paying attention to the way the world has been turning in recent times though and “Stranded Words (Interlude)” has him intoning how “The saints become the sinners / The haves become the nots” over a mellow drone.
However, it’s not all down-tempo fare and the album kicks off with a trippy swirling of sounds and a looped sample of a girl’s voice proclaiming “You’re so cool”, while the hip-swinging motorik groove of “Lose It” is a somewhat unexpected highlight of this set. “Desperation” and “Petrified in Love” even bring new wave stylings to the party, with the latter sounding like something from Nick Lowe’s back catalogue. In fact, the breadth of Last Night in the Bittersweet has Paolo Nutini making a convincing case that he could eventually be joining his influences as one of rock’s elder statesmen himself.
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