KT Tunstall / Brian Lopez

With a new album out entitled 'Invisible Empire/Crescent Moon' KT Tunstall is back on the road with a new band. The album sounds different from Tunstall's usual stuff and she herself confesses that she focused more on her voice than the music on this album and she had been able to do things with her voice that she hadn't before.

The beautiful Leamington Spa Assembly played host to Tunstall and her newly formed band to give their first band gig before taking on Glastonbury the day after. Support came from Tunstall's new guitarist Brian Lopez who was a delight to listen too.



While a lot of artists would genuinely try out new material but heavily back it up with the older stuff to please the audience. Tunstall did the opposite which I hugely admired. The new material feels simple and beautiful. Tunstall at her best. It feels as though we have waited a long time to hear Tunstall like this and sounds like Tunstall has released something that she has wanted too for a long time. The music sounds so heartbreakingly honest, its amazing.

Tunstall is always a crowd pleaser. A great sense of humour and wit makes the evening flow by, with at one point Tunstall forgetting to plug her guitar in and not being sure why it wasn't working. The album is in two halves, but appears on one album which may appear odd but it works, significantly well. It demonstrates parts of Tunstall personal life including her relationship with her Father and her husband and the different lives in Scotland and Tucson, Arizona where the majority of the album was recorded. Obviously, the audience were given classics like 'Black Horse & the Cherry Tree' and 'Other Side of the World' but it wasn't about these oldies, it was all about this new music and the new KT Tunstall.

A highlight for any KT Tunstall fan is seeing her without her guitar – a rarity. Tunstall put down her guitar and sung 'Chimes' which showed her range and the beauty of her voice. Watching her felt as though you were being allowed into something extremely personal and intimate and I couldn't help but sit there, mouth wide, in awe of her. 'Yellow Flower' was another song which took my breathe away "...Falling at your feet in sheer joy that you were able to receive me like a favourite chair. Soaking up the tears if by magic it'll make me ever warmer even after you're not here..." KT Tunstall has this way of being able to create music which you would listen to once, then re-listen to straight away...and again..and again and I think that is what music is about. It is finding that balance and on the 27th June in Leamington Spa, I wish I could have stopped, and restarted the gig over and over. There's something refreshing about intimate gigs then large scale Arena productions. You don't get the same emotions attached to them like you would as a small venue. I had tweeted KT Tunstall previous to the gig about crying in her face when I photographed her, and she tweeted back with a "DO IT" - oh I was close.. don't worry.

Tunstall loves her covers and the crowds were presented with 'Boys of Summer', a Don Henley classic and also a Bruce Springstein remix of 'State Trooper' which captivated those in the audience (my Dad) who "don't quite get Springstein" which is also what Tunstall said. Tunstall has a way of taking any song, her own or a cover, and creating something magical out of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely biased when it comes to KT Tunstall but I truly believe that she is a musician who can not do wrong. Every album and every single just contributes to my adoration of her and this album is no different. I didn't know quite what to expect from this stripped back Tunstall but my god – the woman is amazing.

FUTURE GIGS