Rating: 4/5
Verdict: The wee lass gets tough and delivers some killer punches
Word is that a campervan trip around NZ in 2009 and appearing at Neil Finn's 7 Worlds Collide reinvigorated Scottish singer Tunstall who leapt to fame overnight on a Jools Holland show six years ago. Her folksy '06 debut Eye to the Telescope captured hearts and attention, but Drastic Fantastic two years ago seemed anxiously over-produced.
Those wanting a return to folksy singer-songwriter will reel at the first two tracks here, Uummannaq Song and Glamour Puss, which are driving electro-beat pop. Glamour Puss could be a killer single, but Push That Knot Away which follows is the ace: a dark, dramatic piece which surges relentlessly and leads naturally into the grit-guitar and synth-pop of Difficulty.
Recorded in Berlin's Hansa studio where Bowie and U2 recorded Heroes and Achtung Baby respectively, Tiger Skin has Tunstall taking well-crafted songs and toughening them up for the dancefloor and radio. Fade Like a Shadow and Come On Get In are pure pop, but elsewhere she reverts to other types: Lost is a strong, dreamy ballad; Golden Frames opens as eerie country blues with Seasick Steve; Madame Trudeaux is an edgy Dylanesque stomper with Robyn Hitchcock on slide guitar and a gritty sneer in her vocals ...
Tunstall sounds like she's enjoying her re-invention as alt.electro-rocker. Very cool.
- TimeOut / elsewhere.co.nz
