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Everyone knows that a second album after a huge hit debut is going to be problematic, and while there's a whole lot to like about KT's "Drastic Fantastic" (DF, for short), it just doesn't quite hit the same chords as her first one. To begin with, those of you who, like me, have played "Eye to the Telescope" (EttT) on a loop since we bought it, will find on initial listening to DF that there's something very familiar here. I put this down primarily to the way the album was compiled, with how the heavier songs are interspersed with the softer ones, and ending up with a few softer songs at the end. This is exactly how EttT was compiled, and while I didn't object to that at the time, and there's nothing wrong with this, I'm hoping that future albums get a touch more creative with their compilations. But on closer inspection, this album has some real gems, and comparisons aside, this album is quite a nice collection of intelligent songs, that prove KT is still on the ball.

Personally, I prefer the quieter, folkier songs included here, which are 'Beauty of Uncertainty', 'Someday Soon', 'Paper Aeroplane' and my personal favourite, 'White Bird'. With these songs, KT leans heavily on her guitar and almost performs them A Capella, allowing the lyrics to come through and not be disguised by the instrumentals. I found most of these songs have interesting content, and while probably a touch less poetic than EttT in general, there are some songs here that, if we listen to them carefully, are very evocative and emotional. (I should mention that the liner notes in my copy of this CD have no lyrics in them, so you'll need to look them up on-line to make sure you're not mis-hearing this Scottish lass' intent.) There's also something very hopeful in what some of these songs are saying. For instance, in 'Someday Soon' we feel like she's trying to tell us that while she's felt the pressures of her fame and it isn't easy to cope with, she's also aware that she can step back from it and keep herself from being swallowed by it all. Then, in the song 'White Bird' she tries to see the world from another perspective while observing the creature that is looking at her world. This is no less creative than her EttT hit 'Black Horse and Cherry Tree', and none of these songs should be taken for granted.

Somewhere in the middle we get a slightly out-of-whack song 'Funnyman' which seems to straddle the folk and rock sides of this whole album. Looking at the lyrics of this song it is hard to keep

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