KT Tunstall

KT Tunstall – WAX (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 41:41 minutes | 426 MB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Virgin Records Ltd

On this second installment of a proposed “soul, body, and mind” trilogy kicked off with 2016’s KIN, singer/songwriter KT Tunstall continues her 2010s rebirth, focusing on the physical and embracing the core of humanness with all its flaws and beauty. While the healing KIN marked the restoration of Tunstall’s soul after the emotionally exhausting Invisible Empire/Crescent Moon, WAX awakens her body as she reclaims her sense of self, fighting to live life “with no negative emotion” while wondering “if it’s unreasonable to feel.” WAX harks back to her first three albums with their catchy hooks and raw, emotional punch. Cleansing single “The River” sparkles with life, an empowering Drastic Fantastic rallying cry, while the confessional “Dark Side of Me” and the smoky rocker “The Healer” recall the most electrifying moments of Tiger Suit. Aside from a brief dip into IE/CM contemplation on the Fleetwood Mac-ish “Poison in Your Cup,” WAX is full of vigor, pulsing with a visceral charge on the strutting “Little Red Thread” and the infectious singalong “In This Body.” Producer Nick McCarthy (Franz Ferdinand) injects subtle but inspired touches to the effort, like adding synth to both the driving “Human Being” and highlight moment “The Mountain,” a slinky, intergalactic exploration that sounds unlike anything Tunstall has ever done. These effects add brightness and texture to her typically impeccable songcraft, resulting in a reinvigorated triumph for an artist who considered leaving music behind just years prior to WAX’s release. Here, Tunstall has rekindled the fire with one of her tightest and most inspirational records to date.

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KT Tunstall – KIN (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 46:19 minutes | 1,09 GB | Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Virgin Records Ltd

KT Tunstall processed loss on 2013’s Invisible Empire/Crescent Moon, mourning the death of her father and her marriage, so 2016’s KIN functions as a counterpoint to that melancholy: it’s a bright celebration of a new start. Tunstall relocated to Southern California and soaked up the sun, throwing herself into positivity with the assistance of producer Tony Hoffer, who previously helmed albums for Beck and Belle and Sebastian. Neither of those acts provide much of a touchstone for KIN, a record whose fleeting moody moments evoke either parts of Tunstall’s past or perhaps the inspirational rallying call of Sara Bareilles but is dominated by saturated neon colors reminiscent of Tegan and Sara’s new wave makeover. Hoffer pulls off this portion of KIN with aplomb, giving the music space and spectacle; from the moment “Hard Girls” kicks the album off with an insistent retro pulse, the record provides palpable sonic pleasures. Still, what gives KIN its weight is Tunstall’s craft. Invisible Empire/Crescent Moon proved that she could turn inward and be gripping, but by turning that aesthetic inside out — this is an album about embracing the outside world — she’s every bit as compelling. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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KT Tunstall – NUT (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 33:45 minutes | 749 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Virgin Records Ltd

KT Tunstall burst onto the music scene with her 2004 multi-platinum debut, Eye to the Telescope, which spawned the global hits “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” and “Suddenly I See.” These songs established Tunstall as a captivating, must-see performer, as well as a Songwriter with a singular knack for balancing introspective folk and propulsive rock. “I feel there are two immediate, recognizable pillars of my style,” she says. “I have this troubadour, acoustic guitar-driven emotional side. Then there’s definitely a rocker side of me with sharper teeth. “In the last few years, the Grammy-nominated Scottish Musician has expanded on these musical selves by focusing on a trilogy of records, where each album zeroes in on a single concept: soul, body and mind. The first, 2016’s KIN, was the soul record; 2018’s WAX was the body record, and the new NUT is the mind record. Produced by Martin Terefe, who co-wrote her 2005 global hit “Other Side of the World,” NUT draws on Tunstall’s love of percussive West African grooves as a metaphor for the learning patterns of the mind and is an eclectic album that seamlessly weaves together disparate styles. She found her writing mojo thanks to “Canyons,” a song propelled by a grimy, heavy rock riff. In keeping with NUT’s theme, the song’s lyrics are about the canyon-like physiology of the brain, and explore the parallels between humans developing unique identities and the way nature evolves and is shaped over time. Elsewhere, NUT’s lyrics and sound delve into KT’s own personal evolution, and the way we all evolve through the repetition of behaviors and our reactions to life experiences. “Private Eyes” grew out of Tunstall’s brush with the vampiric downside of fame, while “Three,” summarizes the arc of the trilogy, inspired by a journal practice where she would write multiple entries on one topic from the different perspectives of mind, body and soul. “It was necessary in the circumstances to make NUT completely differently from any other record I’ve made,” Tunstall says. “But I was excited and ready for that. The reason I pursued music was because I had to avoid a repetitive job. I need to feel a constant sense of exploration in life. I’ve realized you can easily fall into repetition even in this job. And so for NUT, I was like, ‘Come on, let’s do what we said we were going to do. Let’s push into something new.’ What’s always most important is making an exciting, meaningful record that I love, and to have fun while I’m doing it.

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