Paolo Nutini – Sunny Side Up

Paolo Nutini's Sunny Side Up arrived in 2009 as the Paisley singer-songwriter's second album, and it is where his sound opens up in a big way. Still only 22 when he made it, Nutini moved beyond the acoustic leanings of These Streets into a looser, more varied set built from soul, folk, rock, reggae and pop. That shift mattered: the album became the bestselling British male album artist release of 2009 and later won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Album.

Much of that character comes from the way the record was made. Nutini produced the original sessions himself with his band the Vipers, while Ethan Johns added production detail and mixing, helping shape an album that feels more lived-in than polished. Reviewers at the time picked up on that broadened musical vocabulary, with songs drawing on American and Scottish pop and folk traditions without sounding like a museum piece.

The singles and standouts make the case quickly. "10/10" opens with swagger and bounce, "Coming Up Easy" leans into a warm Stax-style groove, and "Candy" shows how strong Nutini had become at pairing intimate writing with memorable melody. For anyone coming to Paolo Nutini through the later records, Sunny Side Up is the album that first showed how far he could stretch his voice and songwriting without losing their rough-edged charm.

Reviews

• the warmth of the music and the abundance of cracking tunes - The Guardian