Artist: Tunstall, KT
Label: Virgin Records
Release: 2010
Length: 40:05
Rating: 4/5
KT Tunstall, the Scottish singer-songwriter, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and composer, is back on the scene with her third studio album. The title “Tiger Suit” brings 11 fresh tunes of genuinely pure songwriter pedigree, and Tunstall can proudly call this the most mature record of her career.
This is an album with plenty of coherence, holding a high level of arrangement across its running time with practically no dips in quality. It sounds fresh and varied in its lead motifs, yet it’s crystal clear the whole way through that KT Tunstall is the one at the helm.
With the new album KT keeps her feet on the ground. The success of the first two albums didn’t go to her head. “Tiger Suite” keeps up the image of a down-to-earth girl with no ego-trip issues, no haughtiness, arrogance or fake untouchability. On “Tiger Suit” she’s still that girl from the street, approachable for ordinary mortals, the kind you could invite over for an afternoon chat and a cup of coffee, no distance involved.
Tunstall again serves up a varied selection of colorful songs and messages. It’s friendly indie rock, once more cleverly dosed with an organic sonic coating, with acoustic guitars naturally dominating the backing. Take the bright pop ballad (Still A) Wierdo, for example, or the “folky” Fade Like A Shadow, with a splash of retro keyboard sounds on top, which is pretty typical of modern indie.
The album leaps out more decisively right from the opener, Uummannaq Song, which plays out in a harder rock, even danceable funk style. If there’s one place on this album where you can feel the touch of producer Jim Abbiss’s hands, it’s this track, especially if you think of his sound-shaping work with the trendy indie electro rockers Kasabian. And if we’re looking for the modern approach to sculpting an indie rock album’s sound, it’s only right to mention one of the album’s catchiest and most polished arrangements, Difficulty. It’s not far from the newer-era U2 and their clones.
Overall, once you’ve made it through the album, it feels like this time KT put most of the new songs together in a really endearing way, in the engraving of light, danceable impulses. That flirtation with pop dance rhythm is especially intense in the next track, Glamour Puss, which is built as a proper ultra-radio-friendly electronic rock hit. Then there’s a new “country folk” touch in Golden Frames, and a “folky” merry-go-round of clattering “beat” and feisty rhymes in Come On, Get In. Two KT Tunstall standards, somewhat expected but nicely slotted into the album’s flow. Madam Trudeaux turns out to be a real rascal: with the singer’s deft, re-lived vocal manipulation and the support of solid rhythmic drive, it lifts the album back into rock mode. “Tiger Suite” closes with a superb indie lament, and alongside the completely mellow Lost, one of the album’s strongest tracks, The Entertainer, where the power of the singer’s vocal performance sparkles in crafted delicacy and real, subtle allure. That’s the specific quality of a noble one-off that you can only find with KT.
Considering the multi-platinum success of the debut “Eye Of The Telescope”, with a few unforgettable hits, the follow-up “Drastic Fantastic” didn’t bring songs strong enough to stick in the memory for long, which is what defined the debut. That makes “Tiger Suit” a great moment to take a risk. The already released first single Push That Knot Away is a hugely expressive song, and along with it there are potential candidates that could help “Tiger Suit” repeat the success of the debut (Glamour Puss, Uummannaq Song, Difficulty). “Tiger Suit” is a blend of everything: new moves, and those familiar adventures that could’ve fit on the previous two albums too. The new sound is even more natural, warm, compact, “durable” and an even better match for this artist’s vocal essence. Subtlety and the power of bringing moods to life have been further capitalized on this time, so we can talk about a new maturity upgrade that KT Tunstal reaches with “Tiger Suit”. Yes. A step forward. With “Tiger Suit”, KT Tunstall has also finally defined her core, recognizable sound.
Lineup
KT Tunstall – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, xylophone, bass guitar, keyboards, “beatbox”
Seye Adelekan – bass guitar, guitar
Jamie Morrison – percussion
Luke Billen – drums
Leo Abrahams – bandura, guitar
Nick Attwood – trombone
Robyn Hitchcock – guitar
Gary Alesbrook – trumpet
String orchestra (5x violin, 2x viola, 2x cello) on track no. 5
Seasick Steve – backing vocals
Charlotte Hatheplay – backing vocals
Jim Abbiss – keyboards
Production
Jim Abbiss
Track list
1. Unmmannaq Song
2. Glamour Puss
3. Push That Knot Away
4. Difficulty
5. Fade Like A Shadow
6. Lost
7. Golden Frames
8. Come On Get In
9. Still A Weirdo
10. Madame Trudeaux
11. The Entertainer
