KT Tunstall - Nut

by Nick Dent-Robinson

published: 8 / 11 / 2022

Label: Jaydone
Format: CD

intro

Insightful and thought-provoking new album which focuses on the mind and mental health from Sxottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall

For the past seven years KT Tunstall has been kept occupied with her “mind, body and soul” trilogy. The Scottish singer started work on the project soon after moving to Los Angeles in 2015 and she has persevered with it whilst grappling with divorce, the death of her father and hearing problems that led to the cancellation of a tour in 2021. So this has not been an easy time for her. She has, however, now unveiled her album ‘Nut’, the third and final instalment of the trilogy. She sang of the soul on 2016's ‘Kin’ and the body (on 2018's ‘Wax’ and now she has turned to matters of the mind with ‘Nut;. As she explains, “Growing up in Scotland - which I still love and miss desperately, if someone was losing their temper people would say to them, 'Dinna lose yer nut!' I always loved that word 'nut' for mind – and I love that the word can mean 'seed', too. So that just seemed a very appropriate name for this album.” ‘Nut’ plays to Tunstall's rhythmic strengths. She has Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows on board and two beat-driven rock tracks ‘Out Of Touch’ and ‘Private Eyes’ are reminiscent of what she herself has described as the “stompy, sensitive girl-blues” of her debut album, ‘Eye To The Telescope’. The new album's track ‘Demigod’ salutes Stevie Nicks just as, back in 2004, she paid tribute to Patti Smith with her number ‘Suddenly I See’. The influence of Tunstall's new California environment comes to the fore on ‘I Am The Pilot; - a rather new age-style song about forging fresh paths through life (which is, in Tunstall's words, “an instruction manual to mindfulness for myself”). I can imagine that this track may not especially appeal to some of her long-standing Scottish fans! But there are several real album highlights, too. I enjoyed the electronic chimes of ‘Demigod’ and there are happy hints of Laurel Canyon folk on ‘All The Time’ which is a sweet and tuneful love song.

Track Listing:-

1 Out of Touch
2 I Am The Pilot
3 Three
4 Dear Shadow
5 Private Eyes
6 Canyons
7 Synapse
8 Demigod
9 All The Time

Band Links:-

https://www.kttunstall.com/
https://www.facebook.com/kttunstall
https://twitter.com/kttunstall

Play in YouTube:-

Have a Listen:-

interviews

Interview (2020)

KT Tunstall talks to Andrew Twambley about her cover version of the Pretenders' 'Hymn to Her' and contribution to female-only compilation, 'Goodnight Songs For Rebel Girls'.