Paolo Nutini cracks it

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IF YOU were expecting more of the same from Scot pop sensation Paolo Nutini's new album Sunny Side Up, you'll flip.
Not only does it leave the listener wondering how the singer songwriter managed to leap direct from the straight down the line hook-laden indie pop rock of his first album These Streets to this melting pot, but the question of where the bloody hell his singing voice comes from exactly looms larger than ever.
Musically, the genuinely uplifting Sunny Side Up draws from a baffling collection of sources - from reggae rhythms to big band trumpets to tin whistle solos, Paolo's new sound is harder to pin down than a greased Hulk Hogan.
And over this his voice veers wildly between from Otis Redding-style grizzled growling to Bob Dylan nasal moaning - all with an, ahem, distinctive pronunciation that's Nutini's alone.
It's hard to say what exactly Sunny Side Up sounds like - but as sure as eggs is eggs, Nutini doesn't sound like yet another James Blunt, James Morrison clone any more.