SAY Award 2023's nominees explained: Paolo Nutini – Last Night In The Bittersweet
As 2023's Scottish Album Of The Year Award draws near, we're penning some handy primers on each shortlisted album to help you wade through this avalanche of musical goodness. Today we're chatting Paolo Nutini’s leapfrog into prog, Last Night In The Bittersweet
Act: Paolo Nutini
Album: Last Night In The Bittersweet
How it sounds: Nutini will pick up a Modern Scottish Classic Award for his 2007 debut These Streets at this year’s ceremony, but Last Night In The Bittersweet couldn’t be further from that first album’s surface-level sound. Moody guitars prevail on even the most romantic of songs here, buffeting against Springsteen-worshipping americana, flirtations with Scottish folk, and a side-helping of prog to turn his usual plea for a lover into the self-pitying howl of a desperate man. He even weighs into Arab Strap territory on album opener ‘Afterneath’, his despairing spoken word and squalls of post-rock distortion painting a portrait of desolation and defeat. We’re a long way from ‘New Shoes’ now.
Top track: ‘Radio’, in which Nutini reminds audiences that he can make even the vaguest lyrics sound heart-wrenching.
Do you come here often? Nutini was last on the SAY Award shortlist in 2015 for his album Caustic Love.
Why it should win: Nutini’s edging towards darker territory with every album without losing his knack for a solid melody. Last Night In The Bittersweet is the most crowd-pleasing album, and in this case millions of listener can't be wrong.
The SAY Award winner will be announced on Thursday 26 October.
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