fri 13/12/2024

Album: Paolo Nutini - Last Night in the Bittersweet | reviews, news & interviews

Album: Paolo Nutini - Last Night in the Bittersweet

Album: Paolo Nutini - Last Night in the Bittersweet

Scottish blue-eyed soul man comes back rocking

Blue-eyed boy: Paulo Nutini comes back rocking

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.

Diversity of styles is what Nutini seems to be about now that his musical hiatus is over

rating

Editor Rating: 
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)

Explore topics

Share this article

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters