Paolo Nutini – These Streets

Yes, another solo project; another one-man band. If you’ve been following my reviews as of late you would’ve probably noticed an increase in these types of releases. Why? I have no idea; but whatever the reason it means the competition is becoming very stiff now in the solo world. Paolo Nutini, a 19-year-old singer/songwriter from Paisley, Scotland is trying to break into the pack, and his debut effort actually stands up against the already cemented acts like Dallas Green, Jeremy Egnik and Kevin Devine while giving the listener something new in return too.

The ten tracks on These Streets offer the listener a slightly different take on the solo project. Unlike Green and Devine, Nutini goes for a slightly poppier approach rather than the slowed down, ultra mellow outputs that has recent become more dominant. His songs tend to have a bit of a kick to them, a little punch that make the songs a bit more energetic. Jenny Don’t Be Hasty and New Shoes show how a solo act doesn’t always have to be stripped down and mellow but can step outside the comfort sound for a bouncy tune too.

That’s not saying that the album is completely poppy either, Nutini does have a selection of more melodic and mellow outputs like the album titled track. In fact, at certain instances, These Streets remind me of Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie fame. And while the bouncier songs do make the album more complete, it is the slowest track on the album that really takes the cake and shows what the nineteen year old song writer can do. That song is the piano-driven Autumn, an emotional track about the loss of a grandfather sung beautifully and passionately by Nutini in a way that sounds more similar to pop-icon James Blunt rather than one of the indie-oriented solo artists. This, followed by the insanely catchy and memorable Alloway Grove cap of the album perfectly, really making the listener forget about any of the minor mistakes that were scattered throughout the album (of which there are a few).

These Streets isn’t fantastic, but it’s a solid selection of tracks from a talented and young solo artist. It won’t make waves, particularly in the indie/emo market as it has a more of a pop-oriented feel to it, but it’s decent. Out of the onslaught of solo albums lately, this is far from being one of the lower ones.