nutinians

he's born in scotland but has italian descent. he's father owned a fish and chip shop, but his music-loving grandpa encouraged him to sing. he's 20 years old but he growls his accent like an old man.

with all these contradictions, it's good to know Paolo Nutini knows exactly who he is. his music is soft and poignant (read cafe friendly) and his poetry is surprisingly honest.

easy favorites are These Streets, Last Request (there's a hidden acoustic track which is nothing short of suicidal), Million Faces, and Rewind. but for sheer honesty and LSS-inducing musicality, Jenny Don't Be Hasty takes the cake.

this is a refreshing album because it tells exactly what it wants to say, and we walk away from it somehow feeling a connection with the artist. sure Fergie, Justin and Gwen are cool and all, but can you honestly say you can listen to all the tracks in their albums without thinking they are having identity crises?

(Fergie (The Dutchess) tries so hard to convince us that she can sing by imitating your next-door birit queens (Finally). Justin (FutureSex / LoveSounds) suddenly turns into a peace-advocate halfway in his album (Until The End Of Time). And then Gwen (The Sweet Escape). Gwen! Gwen! Do you really have to go Beyonce on us (Orange County Girl)?)

listen to Paolo Nutini, guys. it's been a while since i had a nice long conversation with an song-writer.