Review: KT Tunstall oozes confidence on super new CD ‘KIN’

KT Tunstall, “KIN” (Caroline Records)

The last time Hillary Clinton ran for president, one of her campaign songs was KT Tunstall’s pretty “Suddenly I See.” Eight years later, it’s fitting that as Clinton runs again, Tunstall has re-emerged with an excellent new album, “KIN.”

The Scottish singer-songwriter is oozing confidence and musicality on the 11-song CD , something largely missing from her work since her 2004 multiplatinum album, “Eye to the Telescope,” with its funky pop grooves like “Black Horse & the Cherry Tree.”

The new guitar-driven album is peppered with songs about self-empowerment and self-realization. It’s as if a mature Tunstall has emerged from somewhere nasty and is happily blinking in the sunshine. (Maybe relocating to California had something to do with it)

“There was only blank space/Life lived in negative/I couldn’t find my colour,” she sings on “Turned a Light On.” On “Maybe It’s a Good Thing,” she confesses: “All this choosing wrong/Is losing ground/Often feeling lost.” One song’s title seems to sum up her journey: “It Took Me So Long to Get Here, But Here I Am.”

“Maybe It’s a Good Thing” is the strong, danceable first single, but the upbeat “KIN” shines throughout, from “Two Way,” a fuzzy guitar duet with James Bay, to the sublime “Love Is an Ocean” and the mournful, mature title track.

Embracing her rock-pop gifts, Tunstall seems at peace — and we’re the beneficiaries. It may have taken her long to get here but “KIN” shows it was worth it. A lost soul has returned.

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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits