ANNA WEBBER
Staff Writer
KT Tunstall puts her “Eye to the Telescope.” What does she see? A debut of her quadruple platinum, award-winning album, and it is arriving in the United States on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
This album, which was released in the UK in December, brings forth an altered pop sound to the States. Tunstall is a half Scottish, one-forth Irish, one-forth Cantonese pop-blues singer, songwriter and guitarist.
Tunstall wraps even those most pop sounding songs of hers in a blanket of bluesy, jazzy, folk vibes.
It’s not hard to dig her style. Her sounds are breaking away from the electronic pseudo-music that has been pervading the industry for the past few years.
Her hit song, “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” is already burning up U.S. airwaves before her album release. This song appears fourth on the album and just went from 559 to 18 on Amazon.com.
Beginning on the “Other Side of the World,” Tunstall’s first track is uplifting and mellow, telling a tale of loneliness and longing with words like, “Can you help me?/Can you let me go?/And can you still love me when you can’t see me anymore?”
This song is a catchy tune that sounds like it would fit right in on a melodrama like “The OC” or even old school “Dawson’s Creek.”
Tunstall introduces a very different style with the second song on the album “Another Place to Fall.” It is a little darker, denser and passionate, but the song could definitely do without the chorus, which turns a potentially good song into straight pop music.
With the hit “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” Tunstall really changes things up with this stomp beat that is full of raw, emotion-packed blues vocals.
She kicks out her guitar riffs, showing that this self-taught musician has the soul, though it reluctantly shines through on the rest of the album. A journey out of her soul to her fingertips and out through her earthy voice, Tunstall projects humility, style and personality.
Throughout the rest of the album, the vocals range from introspective and soulful to passionate and fiery.
Tunstall has a natural, organic voice, that uses a wandering imagination to her advantage, singing, “Miniature disasters and minor catastrophes/ Bring me to my knees/ Well I must be my own master/ Or a miniature disaster will be the death of me.”
She doesn’t throw around dirty imagery, sensuous undertones or blatant innuendos.
She gives friendly advice, reaches out her hand and her heart to her audience. In the 11th track, “Heal Over,” she softly sings, “Come over here lady/ Let me wipe your tears away/ Come a little nearer baby/ Coz you’ll heal over/ Heal over someday.”
These songs are like mini conversations she has had with friends, or would have, if she got the chance.
Tunstall’s album ends with “Through the Dark,” where she sings “Try to find light on someway/ Try to find light on somewhere/ I’m finding I’m falling in love/ With the dark all over again.”
The album has a positive and upbeat sound, but with dense, profound nuances, Tunstall makes this exploration of the self a poignant musical story, even though it could be construed as run-of-the-mill.
She is a girl who knows what she is doing, and her album is already getting big reactions.
02-02-2006
