Paolo Nutini's Sunny Side Up

© Kevin Westenberg

Paolo Nutini's Sunny Side Up.

How do you like your eggs? It's a very existential question. Do you like them scrambled, like some chaotic indie or punk anthem? Or, do you like them poached, like a late festival night deejay? Or, do you like them sunny-side-up?

Paolo Nutini's second studio album, Sunny Side Up, makes the case for the latter. Both melodic and raspy, upbeat and crooning, his album makes its way into your rotation whether dressing groggily in the morning, cleaning in a mid-afternoon meditative state, or lying down for some late night loving.

Dismissed by some critics as being all over the place, Sunny Side Up definitely transports, just like a flux capacitor. Songs like "No Other Way" carry one to a '50s era dance – a clean place where your inner Greaser wants to dance cheek to cheek. "Pencil Full of Lead" quantum leaps one to a big band tent at the New Orleans Jazz Fest during the '90's. "Ten Out of Ten" is skanky enough to launch a Soul Shakedown Party on some Caribbean streets during the '70s. Rather than brining the album down though, its this range that makes the album a fun ride all the way though.

Of course, it helps that Sunny Side Up is an album that embraces life with its upbeat, intimate attitude that clearly personifies a young man's journey into adulthood. The record's arrangement unfolds with moods and tempos, a narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The best song on the album is probably "Candy." Its lyrics represent the young man’s playful and sexy journey into maturity.

But Nutini is in no rush to grow up. He still has the hope, power and spirit of youth that exudes confidence, yet he’s humble enough to transcend his ego. And in a culture filled with aging rock stars and nip-and-tuck celebrities it's authentic to hear a young passionate voice croon his own destiny.

Although Nutini's album peaked at number 1 on U.K. Charts, his popularity has yet to mature in the U.S. So, if you haven't discovered him yet, consider this your invitation. Because it's fun to watch a rocket being built.