On the morning of September 9th, 2022, KT Tunstall – of ‘Black Horse And The Cherry Tree’ fame – released her seventh album, NUT. If there has ever been a more unfortunate day of release, I’m not sure when it was.
The collection lacks a little direction which leaves the track choices feeling disjointed at times. But the strength in KT Tunstall’s vocal identity and sincerity of the penultimate track may be a good indicator for what’s next for the artist.
It’s hard to say why, but ‘Out Of Touch’ is the sort of song which grows on you. Upon fourth listening one may decide that this is an appropriate place to start and the lyrics “It’s a shake up, but it’s everything I need” set the right tone for what is to come.
Next up, ‘I Am The Pilot’ – reminiscent only in name of Elton John’s ‘Take Me To The Pilot’ – is so close to something powerful. There’s a frustrating degree of bassy depth missing which would transform the sweet melody into a full blown dance track. The third, and aptly named track ‘Three’ is one for the fans of Dodie out there. It’s at this point in the album that we see KT Tunstall as she is. For the evolution of the artist alone I would skip straight to this point.
The classical KT twang is endearingly clear in ‘Dear Shadow’ and sure to stir the hearts of her oldest fans. And it’s these fans from the early 2000s which will feel the most affinity with ‘Private Eyes’, a song with all the hallmarks of a coming of age film at that time.
Things amp up again with ‘Canyons’, as the vocals lose a little polish and suggest the best is yet to come. ‘Demigod’ offers a lot of the same lyricism as MARINA with the sound of Talking Heads’ ‘Once In A Lifetime’. “She can make you high, or she can make you cry, yeah can bring you back to life” is the perfect description of KT’s discography to date.
If pushed to make a one track recommendation of the album, the stand out piece has to be ‘All the time’. In these 3 minutes and 27 seconds, the maturity of the artist comes through and brings this new chapter to a seeming close.
In light of the Queen’s death, a media blackout has left those in marketing with the impossible task of cutting through the silence. To top the charts at a time like this would require a big name, a fantastic album, and something that fits the tone.
KT Tunstall has not succeeded in these exceptional circumstances and what may be a good album has fallen victim to the world it’s been brought into.
Words by Catherine Woolley
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