Album: Tiger Suit – KT Tunstall

3 and a half stars

With a discography that includes two well-received albums and a handful of top 40 singles, it may come as a surprise that KT Tunstall has never had a top ten single. Maybe, it’s because she has forged a career as being more of an album artist. ‘Tiger Suit’ follows this trend of being an above average singer/songwriter album, although that’s not to say that you should overlook her singles. Her first release from the album, the beautifully crafted ‘(Still a) weirdo’, ha

s been given lots of airplay on certain radio stations – I’m looking at you oldies’ favourite Radio 2 – but that’s unlikely to make it a chart topper any time soon.

After disappearing from the music scene for a few years, Tunstall created this record on a three month sabbatical in Greenland. Whilst the album ventures into new scenes with a more electronic sound on a few tracks and the raw, folk notes evident in ‘(Still a) Weirdo’, the same upbeat pop/rock vibes that made Tunstall a household name with ‘Suddenly I See’ are revisited in ‘Come On, Get On’ and ‘Madame Trudeaux’. Maybe it’s a mismatch of different sounds, but Tunstall’s vocals and clever writing stay strong throughout, reinforcing why she was deserving of her Ivor Novello award back in 2006.

You can’t fault the girl for trying a new direction with this album. She’s admitted that she lacks confidence and hence the need for this metaphorical tiger suit to protect her. While it’s unlikely that this album will prove to be groundshaking, it’s a solid album which Tunstall should be proud of. She’s fought against the trends of mainstream pop to create a name for herself as an individual. And that’s nothing to be ashamed of. So maybe she shouldn’t keep hiding away.

Catherine May