Virgin Records is throwing around some major dough to promote KT Tunstall.
But why not? This Scottish singer/songwriter has the voice of an angel and a smooth, stone-cold delivery.
She's alt-pop with a tambourine shake of dance music — Hootie & the Blowfish meets Kylie Minogue. The lyrics are rather cliché, but what musician/band on a major record label isn't on the corny side these days?
Tunstall's debut album, "Eye to the Telescope," was released about a year ago in the UK, but took the slow boat to America — released on Feb. 7 in the States.
And she has arrived. She made her U.S. television debut on NBC's "Today Show" on Jan. 20, performing her single "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree."
On the album, the single starts with Tunstall counting off the beat and then busting into a "woo-hoo." The "woo-hoos" continue throughout with everything building to the sassy chorus: "But I said no no/You're not the one for me."
The catchy number has an acoustic guitar strumming an upbeat progression and a funky toe-tapping drum beat cementing the rhythm.
The rest of the tunes on the 12-track album follow pretty much the same format.
Tunstall creates her most heartfelt vocal performance on the last track of the album — "Through The Dark." Piano, vocals and drums are all the tune is, which allows Tunstall to really show off her beautifully melodic voice.
The most refreshing aspect of the album is Tunstall wrote or co-wrote all of the songs — a rare happening in the world of pop stars. Not only that, but Tunstall actually plays a multitude of instruments — guitar, Wurlitzer, piano, pianet, shelltone, percussion and bass. I'd like to see Britney Spears try and play a kazoo.
Some of the songs are a bit over produced, but this is only the Scottish star's first album. As soon as she establishes herself as a stronger presence in the music scene she will be able to demand more control over her songs.
As it stands right now, a small army of men from Virgin Records have produced and engineered her album. Tunstall did just recently win the Brit Award for the best female solo artist. So look out, she's on her way to artistic freedom, which can only be a good thing for the immensely talented songwriter.
