Anyone who saw the Scottish singer’s TV debut, performing “Black Horse And The Cherry Tree” on 'Later… With Jools Holland' can’t fail to have been blown away. It was a staggering feat of bravery and ingenuity.
In the hallowed company of The Cure, Jackson Brown and Anita Baker, the lone Tunstall mesmerised as she used an echo pedal to sample herself. Hammering-out beats on her acoustic, strumming chords, layering-up melodies and harmonies, she constructed an intricate backing loop, like it was the easiest thing in the world, and then proceeded to top it with a bluesy lullaby that was just as effortless and breathtaking.
With that one performance, Tunstall asserted herself as a supremely capable songwriter with a voice primed for late night introspection. She also alluded to a spirit of adventure and daring which, in reality, “Eye To The Telescope” doesn’t deliver. Without it, it’s a promising rather than a exceptional debut - full of endearing touches, but rarely breathtaking. Clearly Tunstall sees herself as guardian of the noble female singer-songwriter tradition. The latest in a long and distinguished line of women with guitars trying to make sense of the world around them.
It’s a role she’s more than equipped for. Norah Jones with a rock leaning, her honeyed purr lifts drowsy laments “Silent Sea”, “Through The Dark” and “Heal Over”. Upping the stakes and the tempo to a swampy groove, “Another Place To Fall” proves she can handle a big anthem, while murky off-kilter shuffle “Miniature Disasters” finds a jazzy slur and gravely rasp which hold the attention long enough for the bitter melody to take hold.
Beautiful songs one and all, there’s much to recommend “Eye To The Telescope”, and given enough time and patience, Tunstall’s subtle charm seeps through making it an album to love. Yet, the path she’s chosen is littered with the broken careers of women with guitars and songs just as lovable.
As her "Later…" performance, thankfully included here as a bonus track, reminds, when she goes out on a limb she’s got an inventive streak wide enough to set her apart from the throng of sentimental strummers. Keeping it reigned in and playing it safe, could yet be her undoing.
