Nut is the seventh studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, and the third and final album in the "soul, body and mind" trilogy. It was released on 9 September 2022, following the first two albums of the trilogy, Kin (2016) and Wax (2018). The first songs released from the album were titled "Canyons", "I Am the Pilot" and the lead single called "Private Eyes".[1]
Background
Tunstall announced the release of Nut on 28 May 2022, completing her trilogy of albums ("soul, body and mind"), with Nut being about the mind.[2] Tunstall started working on the record during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, alongside writing music for a musical.[1]
The album was written and recorded during a profound period of change for Tunstall, including hearing loss, heightened self-awareness, love and a global pandemic.[3]
The album artwork was created by Josh McCartney.[4] Tunstall talked about the album name "nut", as a word that refers to mind or brain in Scottish slang. She elaborated, "I love that the word also means a seed – the album artwork is all about the brain being a garden; you reap what you sow, you need to keep the weeds at bay, and there is an almost supernatural beauty to when things blossom".[5]
Tunstall released three singles from the album prior to its release: "Canyons", "I Am the Pilot" and the lead single "Private Eyes" – which is a song tackling a true story "of a starlet lost in her own fame, and my getting a glimpse of her gilded prison..."[6] She released a music video for each single.
Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic cited two of the singles, "I Am the Pilot" and "Canyons" as highlights, as well as the album opener "Out of Touch" and "Synapse".[3]
John Apice from American Highways described Tunstall's vocals as "sumptuous" and mentioned the songs "tease with danceable energy & keep the commercial silliness in check". His highlights include "Dear Shadow", "Demigod" and "All the Time".[9]
Track listing
All tracks produced by Martin Terefe, except where noted.
