Review: Paolo Nutini

Review: Paolo Nutini

Paolo Nutini 'These Streets': Aidin Vaziri | He's got great lips. And because he's got great lips -- just like Mick Jagger and Ian McCulloch -- you want everything else about Paolo Nutini to be great. He's almost there. Not quite, but closer than most 19-year-olds, what with a rough-hewn rock 'n' roll rasp that fits his scratchy Faces-inspired soul-pop like a pair of old 517s and a cache of songs on his debut album that bustle with surprising urgency. The half-Italian, half-Scottish songwriter swaggers with as much casual confidence on the disc's rocking opener, "Jenny, Don't Be Hasty," as he does on its knockout ballads like "Last Request" and "Rewind." If he's not careful, he could easily turn into the next James Blunt. Not that that would be so awful.