by Dave Franklin

Created on: January 04, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

I'll be honest with you right from the start, I must confess to being a sucker for a female vocal, it's the one thing assured to make me sit up and take notice. Since my days as a young gothic garbed rocker slavishly following All About Eve around the country and being totally captivated with the dulcet tones of Julianne Regan, my taste in that respect hasn't changed much. Suzanne Vega had a similar effect and even in more recent times Dido seems to recapture that quality that always appealed to me. I will be the first to admit that she is a one trick pony, she has one style and that's really it, but there is something in those ethereal, breathy sounds that gets under my skin. So that said, when I first heard K T Tunstall's break through single " Other Side of the World" there was much that appealed to me and I knew that this was someone that I was going to have to explore further.

KT only took up guitar at the very late age of 16, although she had already mastered piano and flute and had honed her voice listening to Ella Fitzgerald. After spending time in America soaking up gigs by 10000 Maniacs and the Grateful Dead she found herself returning to her native Scotland to become part of the scene that spawned such cult bands as The Fence Collective and The Beta Band. From there it was a short trip to London, U2's producer and the Album that I find myself listening to as I write.

The album kicks off with the aforementioned "Other Side of the World" a song that neatly blends the soft sophistication of the likes of Dido, with a richer, less fragile delivery and a folk sensibility. Very much still one girl with a guitar dominating the song but with the neat use of double tracking, multi-layering and additional piano, not to mention simple drumming nailing it tightly down. There is a full band playing but the minimalist approach to the production reminds you what is being offered up here and the girl with her name on the cover remains the main event at all times. Names such as Beth Orton on a particularly happy day and even the queen of them all, Carole King are not out of place as comparisons here but KT (apparently the text-generation version of her actual name, Katie) still has enough of her own way about her to not come off as a mere copyist. So this was where my familiarity ends and from here on in it I would have to see if the rest of the album stood the test.

"Another Place to Fall" immediately heads of in another direction, a sub jazz drum shuffle and self assured

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