Tiger Suit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 22 September 2010 | |||
Recorded | 2009–2010 | |||
Studio | Hansa Tonstudio (Berlin) RAK Studios (London) Sarm Studios (London) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 43:04 | |||
Label | Relentless | |||
Producer |
| |||
KT Tunstall chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Tiger Suit | ||||
| ||||
Tiger Suit (Untamed Edition) | ||||
Tiger Suit is the third studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. It was released by Relentless Records in Ireland on 24 September 2010,in the United Kingdom on 27 September 2010 and in the United States and Canada on 5 October 2010. It was released in Europe on the 22 and 25 October 2010. The Japanese edition,released on 22 September,features two additional tracks:a cover of LCD Soundsystem's "New York,I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" and "It Doesn't Have to Be Like This (Baby)"
"Fade Like a Shadow" was lead single in the United States and was released on 6 August 2010 via iTunes,while "(Still a) Weirdo" in the United Kingdom was released on 26 September 2010 via iTunes. In July 2010,as advance to the album,Tunstall uploaded via YouTube a non-single video for the song "Push That Knot Away". On 13 December 2010,KT Tunstall made a collaborative video for "Glamour Puss" with fans.
On 25 December 2013,over three years after the album release,and even after her fourth studio album Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon release,Tunstall re-released a song from Tiger Suit as a last single;"Come On,Get In".
On 29 October 2021,a special expanded edition called Untamed Edition was released to mark National Album Day in the United Kingdom,released on vinyl and digital formats,consisting of a 2LP edition. The first one containing the album plus the bonus track "It Doesn't Have to be Like This (Baby)" and the second one consisting in demo versions of some tracks,Tunstall's early Hansa Studios sessions and the unreleased title track "Tiger Suit". [1]
On 11 February 2010 [2] reported that,"KT Tunstall has recorded her new album in Berlin's famous Hansa studio. The studio,beside the site of the Berlin Wall,was used to make legendary albums including David Bowie's Heroes and U2's Achtung Baby. KT said:"I had an amazing three weeks recording in Hansa in Berlin in January and am finishing it all off in London." The Scots singer,who has been quiet of late,reassured fans she has been busy. She added:"I am still very much alive and have every music-making limb and muscle working in my laboratory of fierce-new-album-ness." Before her album comes out,KT played a stripped-down set at the Haiti fundraising gig at the Roundhouse in Camden on Thursday 25 February. She hoped to jump up with her old pal Seasick Steve for a song or two. Kt added:"My shizzle will feature some new faces and definitely some new songs,so come and have a listen and chuck some dough at a good cause.""
She stated down the line from a promo stop in Minneapolis that she doesn't write on tour,"so it was essential that I took time out from her previous album Drastic Fantastic ". She had started her time off by travelling through the Arctic,South America and India,so she had locked into a very primal,indigenous spirit by the time it came to recording.
Tunstall said that the album's title is inspired by a recurring dream she had,before discovering that 2010 is the Chinese Year of the Tiger. [3] The dream is about her and her little brother,seeing a tiger in her garden and going outside to stroke it. She returns indoors and is seized by the fear that she could have been killed. Over the years,it has occurred to her that the reason the tiger responds so passively is that she herself is disguised as a tiger,wearing a tiger suit. [4]
She said that while writing and recording the album,she found a new sound she called "Nature techno",which mixes organic instrumentation with electronic and dance textures. At a media showcase in London,Tunstall offered an unusual description of the songs from her forthcoming third album:"Like Eddie Cochran working with Leftfield". [5]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 73/100 [6] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [7] |
BBC Music | (positive) [8] |
Entertainment Weekly | (B+) [9] |
Evening Standard | [10] |
The Guardian | [11] |
musicOMH | [12] |
The Phoenix | [13] |
Rolling Stone | [14] |
The Scotsman | [15] |
Yahoo! Music | (7/10) [16] |
Tiger Suit received generally positive reviews from critics. Aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalised rating of 73% based on fourteen critic reviews [17] and AnyDecentMusic? reports a rating of 7.0 based on thirteen reviews. [18] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave it 4.5 out of five,saying it is "built upon Tunstall's strongest set of songs yet" and calling it "an excellent album that satisfies as pure sound and as songwriting sustenance". [7] Charlotte Richardson Andrews of The Guardian called it an "inventive follow-up to 2007's Drastic Fantastic,which merges her raspy folk with free-spirited campfire rhythms" and found it "introspective in places,but mostly [...] fierce,claws-out fun". [11] Rick Pearson of the Evening Standard awarded Tiger Suit four out of five stars,saying that Tunstall "has set her sights on the dancefloor with its 11 up-tempo tracks" and that "the album adds synthesisers and drum machines to Tunstall's platinum-selling pop formula". [10] Victoria Dillingham of musicOMH wrote that "despite her self-confessed lack of confidence when it comes to crossing musical boundaries,Tunstall proves that in the guise of her Tiger Suit she can achieve anything she puts her mind to." [12] Greg Kot from Entertainment Weekly thought that "with commercial radio all about that urban groove thing these days,it's little wonder that the Scottish singer KT Tunstall decorates her Lilith Fair-style songwriting chops with electro-pop beats" and stated that she "keeps enough off-kilter grit in her voice to make the claim in "(Still a) Weirdo" stick". [9] Fiona Shepherd of The Scotsman felt that "Tunstall dresses up her songs with brave new sounds but at heart she's still a pop songwriter with rootsy inclinations" and stated that "there is a degree of tension throughout [the album] between Tunstall's determination to try something different and her love of a simple song". [15]
Matthew Horton of BBC Music said that Tunstall "has settled into a familiar groove" and called the album "all no end of fun,without pushing any envelopes". [8] James Berry of Yahoo! Music noticed that "there's the energy of electronic input underpinning some songs,but the moments that leave marks include the four-to-the-floor squall of "Push That Knot Away" [...],staccato simplicity of "(Still a) Weirdo" and the xylophone and acoustic guitar marching drum twinkle-fest "Fade Like a Shadow"" and stated that the album sounds like "KT Tunstall armed with a better producer". [16] Jeff Tamarkin from The Phoenix found it "tougher,louder,and more electronically endowed than [...] its poppy predecessor" and noticed the "denser,rowdier sonics that permeate much of the record",but felt that "in her quest for catchy buzz lines,[Tunstall] sacrificed clarity and craft". [13] J. Edward Keyes of Rolling Stone said that Tunstall "leavens sleek pop songs with her warm-whiskey rasp" and stated that "one of Tiger Suit's cleverest tricks" is that "it can so nimbly navigate such contradictions",awarding it three out of five stars. [14]
The Songs "Come On,Get In" and "Glamour Puss" were used in the TV show Desperate Housewives' promo for episodes 8 and 12 of the 7th season.
A week after the album's release,on 9 October 2010,the album peaked in the UK album chart at number 5,which is the third of Tunstall's albums to reach the top 5 (two of her previous albums peaked at 3). However,contrary to the two previous album,Tiger Suit stayed in the top 100 for four weeks (whereas Eye to the Telescope stayed for 94 weeks and Drastic Fantastic for 20 weeks). On its second week of release,the album fell down to 16th position,33rd on its third week,and then disappeared from the top 40.
In Ireland,the album peaked at 33,staying one week in the top 40.
In the U.S.,Tiger Suit peaked at the number of 43 on the US Billboard 200 Albums,and also peaked at 13 in the US Top Rock Albums,18 in the US Top Digital Albums,and 25 in the Top 100 European Albums.
In the other countries of Europe,the album failed at the French top 100,where she was certified gold for Eye to the Telescope ,peaking at 118 and staying in the top 200 for two weeks. In Belgium,Netherlands,and Germany,the album entered the top 100. In Switzerland,the album peaked at 34 in its first week of release.
All tracks produced by Jim Abbiss,except track 2,"Glamour Puss",which is produced by Jim Abbiss and Greg Kurstin,track 9,"(Still a) Weirdo",produced by Kurstin,and track 13,"It Doesn't Have to Be Like This (Baby)",produced by KT Tunstall and Luke Bullen.
All lyrics are written by KT Tunstall, except for track 12, "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down", which is written by James Murphy, Pat Mahoney, and Tyler Pope
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Uummannaq Song" | KT Tunstall | 3:37 |
2. | "Glamour Puss" | KT Tunstall, Greg Kurstin | 3:19 |
3. | "Push That Knot Away" | KT Tunstall | 3:46 |
4. | "Difficulty" | KT Tunstall | 4:59 |
5. | "Fade Like a Shadow" | KT Tunstall | 3:28 |
6. | "Lost" | KT Tunstall, Martin Terefe | 4:41 |
7. | "Golden Frames" (featuring Seasick Steve) | KT Tunstall | 3:46 |
8. | "Come On, Get In" | KT Tunstall, Martin Terefe | 3:40 |
9. | "(Still a) Weirdo" | KT Tunstall, Greg Kurstin | 3:40 |
10. | "Madame Trudeaux" | KT Tunstall, Linda Perry | 3:18 |
11. | "The Entertainer" | KT Tunstall, Jimmy Hogarth | 4:49 |
Total length: | 43:04 |
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" (Live from the Hiro Ballroom, New York) | James Murphy, Pat Mahoney, Tyler Pope | 4:49 |
13. | "It Doesn't Have to Be Like This (Baby)" | KT Tunstall, Seye Adelekan | 3:09 |
Total length: | 51:02 |
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" (Live from the Hiro Ballroom, New York) | James Murphy, Pat Mahoney, Tyler Pope | 4:49 |
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Uummannaq Song" | KT Tunstall | 3:37 |
2. | "Glamour Puss" | KT Tunstall, Greg Kurstin | 3:19 |
3. | "Push That Knot Away" | KT Tunstall | 3:46 |
4. | "Difficulty" | KT Tunstall | 4:59 |
5. | "Fade Like a Shadow" | KT Tunstall | 3:28 |
6. | "Lost" | KT Tunstall, Martin Terefe | 4:41 |
7. | "Golden Frames" (featuring Seasick Steve) | KT Tunstall | 3:46 |
8. | "Come On, Get In" | KT Tunstall, Martin Terefe | 3:40 |
9. | "(Still a) Weirdo" | KT Tunstall, Greg Kurstin | 3:40 |
10. | "Madame Trudeaux" | KT Tunstall, Linda Perry | 3:18 |
11. | "The Entertainer" | KT Tunstall, Jimmy Hogarth | 4:49 |
12. | "It Doesn't Have To Be Like This (Baby)" | KT Tunstall, Seye Adelekan | 3:10 |
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Lost (Hansa Session)" | 4:42 | |
2. | "Come On, Get In (Hansa Session)" | 3:57 | |
3. | "(Still A) Weirdo (Hansa Session)" | 2:58 | |
4. | "Madame Trudeaux (Hansa Session)" | 3:19 | |
5. | "Scarlet Tulip (Hansa Session)" | KT Tunstall | 4:23 |
6. | "Glamour Puss (Demo)" | 3:17 | |
7. | "Difficulty (Demo)" | 4:35 | |
8. | "The Entertainer (Demo)" | 4:31 | |
9. | "Come On, Get In (Demo)" | 3:21 | |
10. | "Tiger Suit (Bonus Track)" | KT Tunstall, Martin Terefe | 3:40 |
Charts
| Certifications
|
Region | Date | Label | Format |
---|---|---|---|
Japan | 22 September 2010 [30] | EMI | CD |
Ireland | 24 September 2010 | Relentless | CD CD+DVD |
United Kingdom | 27 September 2010 | Relentless | CD CD+DVD |
29 October 2021 | Relentless | Vinyl [31] | |
Canada | 5 October 2010 | Virgin | CD CD+DVD |
United States | |||
Europe | 22 October 2010 [32] | Relentless | CD |
25 October 2010 [32] | CD+DVD |
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland. She has released eight studio albums internationally: Eye to the Telescope (2004), Drastic Fantastic (2007), Tiger Suit (2010), Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon (2013), Kin (2016), Wax (2018), Nut (2022), and a collaboration album with American musician Suzi Quatro, Face to Face (2023). She has also appeared in two episodes of the comedy series This is Jinsy on Sky Atlantic.
"Other Side of the World" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, included as the opening track on her debut album, Eye to the Telescope (2004). The song is about the problems of long-distance relationships and how they seldom work out. It is based on a true story of two friends Tunstall had who were a couple but one lived in Scotland and the other in the United States.
Eye to the Telescope is the debut studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, originally released on 13 December 2004 and re-released 10 January 2005 by Relentless Records. On 19 July 2005, it was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize in the United Kingdom. Tunstall promoted the album in the United States and Canada in December 2005. The album was released on 7 February 2006 in the US. Also, a special CD/DVD edition of the album was released in September 2006 in the United States, along with a different cover and a bonus track.
"Suddenly I See" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall from her debut studio album, Eye to the Telescope (2004). It was inspired by New York singer and poet Patti Smith, whose album cover for Horses (1975) also inspired Tunstall's album cover for Eye to the Telescope. The song was released on 29 August 2005 as the third single from the album in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it was released as the album's second single on 27 February 2006.
"Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall from her 2004 debut album, Eye to the Telescope. The track was released on 21 February 2005 as the lead single from the album, charting at No. 28 on the UK Singles Chart the same month. The following year, the single became a hit outside Europe, reaching No. 7 in Canada and No. 20 in the United States and New Zealand.
Drastic Fantastic is the second studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. It features some unreleased tracks she wrote before Eye to the Telescope such as new tracks she wrote in 2003. The record was released by Relentless Records on 10 September 2007 in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe, on 15 September in Australia, and 18 September 2007 in the United States and Canada. However, the album was leaked on P2P networks on 3 September 2007.
"Hold On" is a song by Scottish singer KT Tunstall, written by Tunstall and produced by Steve Osborne for Tunstall's second album, Drastic Fantastic (2007). The song was released as the album's first single on 16 July 2007 in the United States. It was then released in the United Kingdom as a download single on 13 August 2007 and as a CD and 7-inch single on 27 August 2007. "Hold On" peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart, number 19 in Norway, and number 26 in Italy and Switzerland. In North America, the song reached number 46 in Canada and number four on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, topping the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart for 11 weeks.
The discography of KT Tunstall, a Scottish rock and folk recording artist, includes eight studio albums, seven as a solo artist, a a collaboration album with Suzi Quatro, and twenty-three singles. In addition to her recording work, she has also written various soundtracks for movies. In 2014, Tunstall wrote "Miracle" as an official soundtrack single for the film Winter's Tale, and "We Could Be Kings" for Million Dollar Arm.
Jim Abbiss is a British music producer, best known for his work on records including the debut album of Editors, Arctic Monkeys' Mercury Music Prize winning debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Kasabian's Kasabian and Empire, Ladytron's Witching Hour and Ladytron, Sneaker Pimps' debut Becoming X, and Adele's 19, and 21.
Turn It Up is the debut studio album by English singer Pixie Lott, released on 11 September 2009 by Mercury Records. The album's first two singles, "Mama Do " and "Boys and Girls", both topped the UK Singles Chart, while subsequent singles "Cry Me Out", "Gravity" and "Turn It Up" all reached the top 20. Turn It Up peaked at number six on the UK Albums Chart and was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, with sales in excess of 900,000 copies.
Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? is the debut studio album by English recording artist Paloma Faith. It was released on 28 September 2009 by Epic Records. Its first two singles from the album, "Stone Cold Sober" and "New York", both peaked within the top twenty in the United Kingdom. The album spawned three more singles: "Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?", "Upside Down" and "Smoke & Mirrors".
"Fade Like a Shadow" is a 2010 song by Scottish singer/songwriter KT Tunstall. It was released as the U.S. lead single for her third studio album Tiger Suit (2010). In August 2010, Tunstall performed an acoustic rendition of the track in 13 July at the Hiro Ballroom in Manhattan, using live looping to get the layering and harmonizing effects in the chorus. The song talks about accepting that a relationship has run its course, with the lovers parting ways.
"(Still a) Weirdo" is a song by Scottish recording artist KT Tunstall. It was released as the UK lead single from her third studio album Tiger Suit (2010), on 19 September 2010. Written by Tunstall herself and Greg Kurstin, and produced by Kurstin, the song is an acoustic rock ballad and talks about still the same (weird) person after many years. It received critical acclaim, with the majority of the critics complimenting Tunstall for the ability to make an intelligent, simple song. It charted inside the top-forty on the UK Singles Chart at No.39 and as of 2023, remains her last UK top 40 hit. It charted also on the Belgian charts. In the music video, Tunstall travels back in time to the 1960s.
The Scarlet Tulip EP is a 2011 EP studio release from KT Tunstall, recorded in her home studio in April 2011. The album was recorded and produced by Tunstall, co-produced by Luke Bullen and mastered by Jeremy Cooper.
"Push That Knot Away" is a 2010 song by Scottish singer/songwriter KT Tunstall. Though it was not recorded as a single, it is a very important song in her third studio album Tiger Suit (2010). The song premiered on Tunstall's YouTube channel on 9 July 2010 with a non-official video taken from the documentary "How to Make a Tiger Suit".
Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon is the fourth studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. It was released on 10 June 2013 in the United Kingdom, entering the UK Albums Chart at Number 14, and on 6 August 2013 in the United States and Canada, debuting at number 64. It has a more country folk sound than her previous album, Tiger Suit.
"Feel It All" is a song by Scottish recording artist KT Tunstall. It was released as the UK lead single from her fourth studio album Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon, on 29 April 2013 through iTunes on 1 May 2013 through Amazon, and was released as a physical single on 10 June 2013. The cover for the single depicts Tunstall in a desert, with minimal outfits, wild-looking, pointing out the natural, acoustic influences of the album.
Kin is the fifth studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. It was released on 9 September 2016 worldwide, following up her previous album, the folk-toned Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon. It was preceded by the Golden State EP, which included one of the songs from the album, "Evil Eye". The album was produced by Tony Hoffer in a studio in Los Angeles.
Wax is the sixth studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, and the second album in the "soul, body and mind" trilogy. It was released on 5 October 2018, following up the first album of the trilogy, Kin. The first single from the album is "The River", released on 23 August 2018.
Nut is the seventh studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, and the third and final album in the "soul, body and mind" trilogy. It was released on 9 September 2022, following the first two albums of the trilogy, Kin (2016) and Wax (2018). The first songs released from the album were titled "Canyons", "I Am the Pilot" and the lead single called "Private Eyes".