Paolo Nutini on the 'agony and the ecstasy' of love

Back with a bang half a decade on from his last full-length release, Paolo Nutini delivers his new Caustic Love this Friday, April 11. Head to iTunes to download, or to pre-order a signed copy, click here.

In the current Hot Press, which features the Scottish singer himself on the cover, Nutini talks to Olaf Tyaransen about what inspired the record, as well as his track record with relationships and much more.

“For me, subconsciously, it’s been about growing up and not necessarily reflecting too much on that, so it's leaving yourself open and opening yourself up to the extremes of life. That’s what ‘caustic love’ meant for me. It wasn’t a negative, necessarily. It was the idea of falling in love with somebody, the idea of that obsession. Giving yourself over, opening up to somebody like that.”

By the 27-year-old's own admission, he’s been badly burnt in love.

“When you meet a woman, maybe spend your time thinking about her, a lot of your energy goes to somebody else. And that can sort of dissolve and wash over all of those defence mechanisms and things that maybe put you on autopilot. It can leave you vulnerable to the agony and the ecstasy. I said before, you can have the most intense orgasm you’re ever gonna have or you can have the biggest sort of heart wrenching pain that you didn’t even think somebody else could cause you, without physically inflicting it. You never know.

“I think that maybe over the years," he continues, "If you’ve been burned once, you become a little bit apprehensive about getting out again. You can become a bit of a commitmentphobe, develop relationship phobia or whatever you wanna call it. You believe that everything in your life is gonna be easier if you don’t have to worry about somebody else. Sometimes I think one of the best things we can do, especially in our youth, is find somebody to share the good times with. Inevitably, you have to share the bad times too. I think that’s what ‘caustic love’ means. I think maybe the album is a product of practicing what I’ve said there, if that makes sense.”

For more with Nutini, pick up the new issue of Hot Press, on sale now.