KT Tunstall: Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon

KT Tunstall
Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon
(Virgin Records)
Here in the States, we enjoy a wealth of great art, but every once in a while, thereās an album that comes along that makes you curse the Atlantic Ocean for existing because itās released in Europe before here. Ladies and gentlemen, for your Atlantic-cursing consideration, I present Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon.
As the title suggests, this is an album of duality. The writing is influenced by the death of Tunstallās father and the collapse of her marriage. Isolated by mortality and romance, Tunstall crafts a delicate album to match the Tuscan desert on the front cover, where the album was also recorded.
A Western feeling shines through on āMade of Glass,ā complete with a whistling interlude as Tunstall mourns her father through lyrics like ācheating ourselves to believe weāll be lastā and āI was holding your flowers.ā āCarriedā becomes its own cry for help, a search for support through hard times, while āOld Man Songā shows surprising strength, asking her father, āOh, why donāt you just play?ā even as he slips away.
āCrescent Moonā is a standout track in the second half of the album with its ethereal piano and strings, contrasting nicely with the groovy Americana vibe of āFeel It All.ā Tunstall seems to come to terms with the end of her relationship the most clearly on āNo Better Shoulder,ā which consists of several repetitions of the same lyrics: āThereās no better shoulder/Thereās no finer place/But one word of warning/Youāll never be replaced.ā
While this record clearly comes from a place of pain, the songs are ultimately beautiful, dreamy, and intoxicating.
KT Tunstall: Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon http://t.co/dY2D1LZMgN