After a five year gap the dishevelled looking Scot is back, offering a handful of whisky-soaked tracks that help soothe the soul. After the previous success of Nutini’s poppy goes happy Sunny Side Up, his new album Caustic Love provides us with thirteen songs that prove that five years can turn a “boy” into a “man”. The album gives us an insight into Paolo’s experiences and his vast array of musical influences that can be clearly heard throughout. There’s something for everyone here, soul, funk, rock, Motown and Ska, giving every track a life of its own.
Paolo’s headline single in the album is clearly ‘Scream (Funk My Life Up)’. The unashamedly loud and rocky opener not only proves that all those years of booze have created a blistering voice that has waited to be unleashed, but is a kick in the face to anyone thinking they were going to hear another version of ‘New Shoes’. This song takes the listener back to an early Rod Stewart, with backing vocals to match. The album gives us such a melting pot of sounds it becomes hard to categorise at all. Songs such as ‘Let Me Down Easy’ give off vibes of Motown, from the likes of Marvin Gaye and The Supremes. Other tracks such as ‘One Day’ and ‘Better Man’ provide snippets of sounds that almost resemble the soul man, James Brown, himself. There are simply not enough words to list all of the possible influences that have helped mould and shape this album. Paolo clearly has a massive musical range; with ‘Sunny Side Up’ the Ska influence has not diminished, and songs such as ‘Numpty’ prove to any die-hard
Nutini fan that he hasn’t gone totally off the rails.
As well as including epic, movie-soundtrack-like, six minute orchestral corkers, Caustic Love includes two mini, instrumental sound bites with ‘Bus Talk’ and ‘Superfly’ that give you time to take a break and try and figure out what the hell is going on. The most revealing track in the album comes in the form of the philosophical smack in the head, ‘Iron Sky’. Talk of cold society and a surprising speech stating “You are not machines, you are men” is a tad confusing after listening to a mellow and romantic tune beforehand.
Despite all the philosophical talk, ‘Iron Sky’ proves that Paolo has matured over the past five years, writing songs that have real meaning and depth. It’s safe to say Paolo has moved on from singing about pencils full of lead. The album is a truly remarkable feat of work; Paolo has proved here that he is a truly well-developed musician, with an astounding mix of musical genres and sounds being used to provide an experience that is almost cinematic. Caustic Love is surely one of the best albums of the year, and possibly the crowning glory of Paolo’s career. Do yourself a favour, relax, and give Paolo a try. You won’t regret it.
