- Tiger Suit
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Tiger Suit 
Studio album by KT Tunstall Released 22 September 2010
(see Release history)Recorded Hansa Tonstudio, Berlin
2010Genre Alternative rock, alternative dance, nature techno, folk Length 43:04 Label Relentless Producer Jim Abbiss KT Tunstall chronology Drastic Fantastic
(2007)Tiger Suit
(2010)Singles from Tiger Suit - "Fade Like a Shadow"
Released: 6 August 2010 (US) - "(Still a) Weirdo"
Released: 26 September 2010 (UK)
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. However despite these release dates, iTunes Canada has the album available for pre-order with an arrival date of September 28, 2010 a full week before the release of the physical disc.
The album features more contemporary ingredients than her previous work. Several tracks harness electronic beats to her acoustic guitar.
"Fade Like a Shadow" was lead single in the United States and was released on 6 August 2010 via iTunes, and "(Still a) Weirdo" in the United Kingdom was released on 26 September 2010 via iTunes.
On July 2010, as advance to the album, Tunstall uploaded via YouTube a non-single video for the song "Push That Knot Away".
On 6 September 2010, Amazon.co.uk released a bonus track called "It Doesn't Have To Be Like This (Baby)" as a free download pre-release track of the album, available only in the United Kingdom,[1] later being included on the AmazonMP3 version of the album in the US.[2] The same track along with LCD Soundsystem's live cover "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" from The Hiro Ballroom are available on the Japanese edition of the album.[3]
Contents
Background
On 11 February 2010 [4] 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 traveling 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.[5] The dream is about her, seeing a tiger in her garden and goes 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.[6]
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, much like Bjork has been doing since 1993. At a media showcase in London, KT Tunstall offered an unusual description of the songs from her forthcoming third album: "Like Eddie Cochran working with Leftfield".[7]
Reception
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[8]BBC Music (positive)[9] Entertainment Weekly (B+)[10] Evening Standard 
[11]The Guardian [12]musicOMH [13]The Phoenix [14]Rolling Stone [15]The Scotsman [16]Yahoo! Music (7/10)[17] Tiger Suit received generally positive reviews by critics. Aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalised rating of 73% based on fourteen critic reviews[18] and AnyDecentMusic? reports a rating of 7.0 based on thirteen reviews.[19] 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".[8] 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".[12] 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".[11] 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.[13] 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".[10] 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".[16]
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".[9] 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".[17] 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".[14] 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.[15]
The Songs "Come On, Get In" and Glamour Puss were used in the TV show Desperate Housewive's promo for episodes 8 and 12 of the 7th season
Tracklisting
- Standard edition[20]
All lyrics written by KT Tunstall; music compositions are listed below.
- "Uummannaq Song" (Tunstall) – 3:37
- "Glamour Puss" (Tunstall, Greg Kurstin) – 3:19
- "Push That Knot Away" (Tunstall) – 3:46
- "Difficulty" (Tunstall) – 4:59
- "Fade Like a Shadow" (Tunstall) – 3:28
- "Lost" (Tunstall, Martin Terefe) – 4:41
- "Golden Frames" (feat. Seasick Steve) (Tunstall) – 3:46
- "Come On, Get In" (Tunstall, Terefe) – 3:40
- "(Still a) Weirdo" (Tunstall, Kurstin) – 3:40
- "Madame Trudeaux" (Tunstall, Linda Perry) – 3:18
- "The Entertainer" (Tunstall, Jimmy Hogarth) – 4:50
- Special DVD edition[21] (available in UK, Germany, France, and on Amazon.com in the US)
- "How To Make A Tiger Suit"
- iTunes Deluxe edition[22]
- "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down (Live from the Hiro Ballroom, New York)" - 4:49
- "(Still A) Weirdo" (Music Video)
- "Fade Like a Shadow" (Music video)
- "How To Make A Tiger Suit" (Documentary)
- Japanese edition[3]
- "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down (Live from the Hiro Ballroom, New York)" - 4:49
- "It Doesn't Have To Be Like This (Baby)" – 3:09
Release history
Region Date Label Format Japan 22 September 2010[23] EMI CD Ireland 24 September 2010 Relentless CD
CD+DVDUnited Kingdom 27 September 2010 Relentless CD
CD+DVDCanada October 5, 2010 Virgin CD
CD+DVDUnited States Europe 22 October 2010[24] Relentless CD 25 October 2010[24] CD+DVD Charts
Chart (2010) Peak
positionScottish Albums Chart 2[25] Belgium Albums Chart 90[26] Swiss Albums Chart 34[27] Netherlands Albums Chart 61[28] UK Albums Chart 5[29] Irish Albums Chart 33[30] European Top 100 Albums 25[31] U.S. Billboard 200 Albums 43[32] French Albums Chart 118[33] U.S. Top Rock Albums 13[32] U.S. Digital Albums 18[32] References
- ^ "Amazon.co.uk pre-release track". http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0041VCW6E.
- ^ "AmazonMP3 version". http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044K091W/.
- ^ a b "Japanese physical edition". http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TOCP-66965/. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
- ^ "KT Tunstall to play gig in aid of Haiti earthquake victims". The Daily Record. 11 February 2010. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/music-news/2010/02/11/kt-tunstall-to-play-gig-in-aid-of-haiti-earthquake-victims-86908-22035125/.
- ^ "KT Tunstall to launch new album with series of intimate, free gigs across Scotland". The Daily Record. June 10, 2010. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/music-news/2010/06/10/kt-tunstall-to-launch-new-album-with-series-of-intitmate-free-gigs-across-scotland-86908-22323386/.
- ^ http://www.kttunstall.com/story/
- ^ "KT Tunstall shows off claws on Tiger Suit". http://www.billboard.com/news/kt-tunstall-shows-off-claws-on-tiger-suit-1004112911.story#/news/kt-tunstall-shows-off-claws-on-tiger-suit-1004112911.story/.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Tiger Suit KT Tunstall Review". All Media Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1952861. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
- ^ a b Horton, Matthew (24 September 2010). "KT Tunstall Tiger Suit Review". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/n4wx. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^ a b Kot, Greg (5 October 2010). "Tiger Suit (2010) KT Tunstall". Time Inc.. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20430446,00.html. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
- ^ a b Pearson, Rick (24 September 2010). "CDs of the Week: Mark Ronson produces another winner". Alexander Lebedev. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/article-23881907-cds-of-the-week-mark-ronson-produces-another-winner.do. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^ a b Richardson Andrews, Charlotte (24 September 2010). "KT Tunstall: CD review (Virgin/Relentless)". Guardian Media Group. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/24/kt-tunstall-tiger-suit-cd-review. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
- ^ a b Dillingham, Victoria (25 September 2010). "KT Tunstall - Tiger Suit". musicOMH. http://www.musicomh.com/albums/kt-tunstall-3_0910.htm. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ a b Tamarkin, Jeff (22 September 2010). "KT Tunstall". Phoenix Media/Communications Group. http://thephoenix.com/Boston/music/108732-kt-tunstall-tiger-suit-2010/. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
- ^ a b Keyes, J. Edward (5 October 2010). "KT Tunstall Tiger Suit Virgin". Wenner Media. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/45342/215565. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
- ^ a b Shepherd, Fiona (28 September 2010). "Album review: KT Tunstall, Tiger Suit". Johnston Press. http://living.scotsman.com/features/Album-review-KT-Tunstall-Tiger.6551158.jp. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
- ^ a b Berry, James (4 October 2010). "KT Tunstall - ‘Tiger Suit’". Yahoo!. http://new.uk.music.yahoo.com/blogs/albumreviewsuk/2333/kt-tunstalltiger-suit/. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
- ^ "Tiger Suit by KT Tunstall". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/tiger-suit/critic-reviews. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
- ^ "KT Tunstall Tiger Suit". AnyDecentMusic?. http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/2165/Tiger-Suit.aspx. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^ "Standard edition". http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003QTEJWM.
- ^ "Special DVD edition". http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003XOAJ88.
- ^ "iTunes Deluxe edition". http://itunes.apple.com/us/preorder/tiger-suit/id390753435/.
- ^ "Amazon.co.jp： タイガー・スーツ: ケイティー・タンストール: 音楽". Amazon.co.jp. http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B003VPME8M. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
- ^ a b "It works!". Kttunstall.com. http://www.kttunstall.com. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
- ^ http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/23/2010-10-09/
- ^ http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/2010-10-09/
- ^ http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/2010-10-09/
- ^ http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/2010-10-09/
- ^ http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/2010-10-09/
- ^ http://www.irish-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=KT+Tunstall
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/european-albums?tag=relcharts
- ^ a b c http://www.billboard.com/#/album/kt-tunstall/tiger-suit/1393968
- ^ http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/2010-10-09/
KT Tunstall Studio albums Other albums Singles "Throw Me a Rope" · "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" · "Other Side of the World" · "Suddenly I See" · "Under the Weather" · "Another Place to Fall" · "Hold On" · "Saving My Face" · "If Only" · "Little Favours" · "Fade Like a Shadow" · "(Still a) Weirdo"EPs False Alarm · Live Sessions · Have Yourself A Very KT Christmas · Live from SoHo · The Scarlet Tulip EPRelated articles Categories:- 2010 albums
- Albums produced by Jim Abbiss
- KT Tunstall albums
- "Fade Like a Shadow"
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