Kin (KT Tunstall album)

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}} {{EngvarB|date=July 2016}} {{Infobox album | name = Kin | type = studio | artist = KT Tunstall | cover = KIN by KT Tunstall.jpg | border = yes | alt = Tunstall stands against a white background covered in colourful drawings. She flips her hair while wearing a blue jacket, sunglasses, and silver trousers. The title "KIN" is written in a stylised font, and the name "KT Tunstall" is placed across the top of the image. | released = {{start date|df=yes|2016|9|9}}<ref name="stereoboard">{{cite web |url=http://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/200018/9 |title=KT Tunstall Announces New Album 'KIN', Shares New Single Maybe It's A Good Thing |work=Stereoboard.com |date=15 July 2016 |accessdate=24 July 2016 |author=Johnson, Laura}}</ref> | recorded = 2015–2016 | studio = The Hobby Shop The Motherbrain Sunset Sound (Los Angeles) | genre = {{hlist|Pop rock|indie rock<ref name="AllMusic"/>}} | length = 46:14 | label = {{hlist|Caroline|Sony/ATV Music}} | producer = Tony Hoffer | prev_title = Golden State EP | prev_year = 2016 | next_title = Live at O2 Shepherds Bush Empire | next_year = 2016 | misc = {{Singles | name = Kin | type = studio | single1 = Maybe It's a Good Thing | single1date = 15 July 2016 | single2 = Hard Girls | single2date = 1 September 2016 | single3 = It Took Me So Long to Get Here, But Here I Am | single3date = 29 November 2016 | single4 = Two Way (promotional) | single4date = 19 October 2017 }} }}

'''''Kin''''' is the fifth studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. The release of the album marked the first release in a trilogy of albums to be released by Tunstall, the other two albums ''Wax'' and ''Nut'' were released in 2018 and 2022 respectively. ''Kin'' was released on 9 September 2016 worldwide, following up her previous album, the folk-toned ''Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon''. It was preceded by the ''Golden State EP'', which included one of the songs from the album, "Evil Eye". The album was produced by Tony Hoffer in a studio in Los Angeles.

Spawning a total of four singles – "Maybe It's a Good Thing", "Hard Girls", "It Took Me So Long to Get Here, But Here I Am" and "Two Way", the album peaked at number seven on both the Scottish Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart, and debuted at number ninety-six in on the national albums charts in Switzerland.<ref>{{cite web |title=KIN |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/kt-tunstall-kin/ |website=Official Charts |access-date=3 January 2025 |language=en |date=22 September 2016}}</ref>

== Background == Tunstall announced through Facebook in 2015 that a new record would be released in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gallo |first1=Phil |title=Sundance 2015: New Pharrell Songs, KT Tunstall Ready to Score, Rashida Jones Sings & More |url=https://www.billboard.com/culture/tv-film/sundance-2015-recap-pharrell-6458099/ |website=Billboard |access-date=4 January 2025 |date=30 January 2015}}</ref> However, no title track, title album or release date was announced. She also revealed she was working with producer Tony Hoffer during a few chat live with the fans, where she even played live the song "Feel It All" and what was next going to be the promotional single "Evil Eye".

She recorded the album in a studio in Atwater Village, Los Angeles, a place that inspired her a lot of songs, according to her. After her fourth studio album ''Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon'', two years before the album release, Tunstall had considered quitting the album music industry in order to write music for movies.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dingwall |first1=John |title=KT Tunstall says LA saved her life as she returns with new music for fresh start |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity-interviews/kt-tunstall-says-la-saved-8759271 |website=Daily Record |access-date=4 January 2025 |language=en |date=3 September 2016}}</ref> She had entered the Sundance Institute's elite Film Composers Lab in order to give her career another direction. She admitted in an interview with Broadway World: "I stopped. I gave up. I didn't want to do it anymore."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/KT-Tunstall-Announces-New-Album-KIN-to-Be-Released-99-20160715 |title=KT Tunstall Announces New Album 'KIN' to Be Released 9/9 |work=Broadway World Music |date=15 July 2016 |accessdate=19 July 2016}}</ref>

Two years later, ''Kin'' had been written and recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Tony Hoffer. Prior to the release of the album, Tunstall claimed that she had "finally made peace with being a pop songwriter". She further added that "''Kin'' is very much embracing my dharma as an artist, which is to write positive songs that have muscle, but also show their vulnerability."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.umusic.ca/press-releases/new-kt-tunstall-album-kin-released-september-9/ |title=New KT Tunstall Album, KIN, Released September 9 |publisher=U Music |date=15 July 2016 |accessdate=22 July 2016 |archive-date=18 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160718070606/http://www.umusic.ca/press-releases/new-kt-tunstall-album-kin-released-september-9/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''Kin'' is the first album in a trilogy of records by Tunstall, which all cover the themes of "soul, body and mind."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/2018/08/23/640933321/listen-to-kt-tunstalls-anthemic-the-river-from-her-forthcoming-album-wax|title=Listen To KT Tunstall's Anthemic 'The River' From Her Forthcoming Album, 'WAX'|website=NPR.org|date=23 August 2018 |language=en|access-date=2018-12-08|last1=Warren |first1=Bruce }}</ref>

== Composition and promotion == thumb|right|190px|Tunstall performing in December 2016, three months following the albums release

The album is composed of eleven tracks. The lead single to be released from ''Kin'', "Maybe It's a Good Thing", was released on 15 July, and a clip video was released on 1 August to promote the release of the single. Along with the single release, an acoustic version was released as well as a "Bit Funk Remix". The promotional single "Evil Eye" also features on the album. It was the very first song to be released from the album, but it was initially released as a single from the ''Golden State EP''. Another promotional song was released on 19 August, It Took Me So Long to Get Here, But Here I Am. The song then became a single in November 2016. A music video was broadcast on 30 November 2016.

Following "Maybe It's a Good Thing", Tunstall announced that the first radio broadcast for her second single, "Hard Girls", would premiere on the Zoë Ball show for BBC Radio. A music video of the song, featuring Melanie C from the Spice Girls, was broadcast on 13 September 2016.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/watch-kt-tunstall-mel-c-compete-as-rally-drivers-in-hard-girls-video-104908/|title=Watch KT Tunstall, Mel C Compete as Rally Drivers in 'Hard Girls' Video|last=Spanos|first=Brittany |date=2016-09-14|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-07}}</ref> The song "Love Is an Ocean" was also released as a single, with a video on 17 November. The song is a ballad that closes the album.

Another notable song is the duet, "Two Way", with 2016 Grammy Award nominee, James Bay. Bay and Tunstall met during a performance on the show broadcast by Jools Holland, ''Jools' Annual Hootenanny''.<ref>{{cite web |title='Let It Go' singer James Bay records duet with KT Tunstall |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/english/music/news/let-it-go-singer-james-bay-records-duet-with-kt-tunstall/articleshow/54045237.cms |website=The Times of India |access-date=4 January 2025 |date=27 January 2017}}</ref> Tunstall had read in an interview that he was a fan of hers, so she chatted with him and they decided to record a duet. Tunstall says in an interview with the UK newspaper ''Evening Standard'' that Bay is "one of the most talented new songwriters," and added "it was fantastic to work with him.".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/kt-tunstall-on-new-album-kin-ive-got-my-mojo-back-a3307576.html |title=KT Tunstall on new album KIN: 'I've got my mojo back' |work=Evening Standard |date=29 July 2016 |accessdate=10 August 2016|author=Foster, Alistair}}</ref> "Kin" is the title track of the album, and it is a ballad. Tunstall describes it as one of her favourite tracks, and wanted to name the album from this song.

== Commercial performance == Shortly after its release, ''Kin'' was ranked number 5 on the Official UK Albums Update midweek chart, and finally peaked at number 7 on the UK Albums Chart. Sales in the UK were better than her previous album ''Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon'', which peaked at number 14 in the UK in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title=INVISIBLE EMPIRE/CRESCENT MOON |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/kt-tunstall-invisible-empirecrescent-moon/ |website=Official Charts |access-date=3 January 2025 |language=en |date=22 June 2013}}</ref> It is Tunstall's fourth top 10 album in the UK after ''Eye to the Telescope'' and ''Drastic Fantastic'' peaked at number 3, and ''Tiger Suit'' at number 5. In her native Scotland, ''Kin'' also debuted at number seven on the Scottish Albums Charts, spending a total of seven weeks within the Scottish Top 100 Albums Chart.<ref name="Kin Official Charts">{{cite web |title=KIN |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/kt-tunstall-kin/ |website=Official Charts |access-date=4 January 2025 |language=en |date=22 September 2016}}</ref>

Additionally, in the United Kingdom, it debuted at number ten on the Albums Downloads Chart,<ref name="Kin Official Charts"/> number nine on the Physical Albums Chart,<ref name="Kin Official Charts"/> number thirteen on the Vinyl Albums Chart,<ref name="Kin Official Charts"/> and nine on the Record Store Charts.<ref name="Kin Official Charts"/>

== Critical reception == {{Music ratings | MC = 72/100<ref name="metacritic">{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/kin/kt-tunstall|title=Album Review|publisher=Metacritic.com|accessdate=9 September 2016}}</ref> | ADM = 6.2/10<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/8241/KT-Tunstall-KIN.aspx|title=KIN by KT Tunstall reviews|website=www.anydecentmusic.com|access-date=2018-12-07}}</ref> | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1Score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web|title=KT Tunstall: Kin – review|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/kin-mw0002963293|website=AllMusic|accessdate=17 September 2016|author=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas}} </ref> | rev1score = | rev2 = ''Mojo'' | rev2Score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/kin/kt-tunstall|title=Album Review|website=Metacritic.com|accessdate=17 September 2016}}</ref> | rev3 = ''Rolling Stone'' | rev3Score = {{rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{cite magazine|title=Review: KT Tunstall Moved to L.A. and Made a Power-Pop Gem With 'Kin'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/review-kt-tunstalls-kin-w438728|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=9 September 2016|accessdate=17 September 2016|author=Light, Alan}} </ref> | rev4 = Yahoo! | rev4Score = (favourable)<ref name="Yahoo">{{cite web|title=KT Tunstall: Kin review|url=https://www.yahoo.com/movies/review-kt-tunstall-oozes-confidence-super-cd-kin-162817148.html|website=Yahoo|date=13 September 2016|accessdate=17 September 2016|author=Kennedy, Mark|archive-date=22 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160922181541/https://www.yahoo.com/movies/review-kt-tunstall-oozes-confidence-super-cd-kin-162817148.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> }}

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album has an average score of 72 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref name="metacritic" />

Among the positive reviews, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine wrote "At its best, the album is a power-pop gem. [...] ''Kin'' clicks when Tunstall's vocals dig deep on tracks like "Evil Eye" and "Run on Home," and when she and James Bay strike a sexy, slow-rolling groove on "Two Way," it makes an awfully good case for going back to Cali." The magazine rewarded the album with 3,5 stars out of 5.<ref name="Rolling Stone"/> Yahoo! also gave a good review of the album, stating "Embracing her rock-pop gifts, Tunstall seems at peace — and we're the beneficiaries. It may have taken her long to get here but ''KIN'' shows it was worth it."<ref name="Yahoo"/> AllMusic, who gave the album four stars, wrote "What gives ''Kin'' its weight is Tunstall's craft. ''Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon'' proved that she could turn inward and be gripping, but by turning that aesthetic inside out -- this is an album about embracing the outside world -- she's every bit as compelling. "<ref name="AllMusic"/>

''The Irish Times'' however criticised the album and Tunstall for losing "some of her va-va-voom" and saying further "The Scot's sixth album is a departure from the melancholy, bare-boned folk of her last (double) album, ''Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon'', but that's not necessarily a good thing."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/kt-tunstall-kin-album-review-a-pop-rock-turn-towards-the-middle-of-the-road-1.2784553 |title=KT Tunstall - Kin album review: a pop-rock turn towards the middle of the road |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=8 September 2016 |accessdate=17 September 2016 |author=Murphy, Lauren}}</ref>

== Track listing == {{Track listing | extra_column = Producer(s) | total_length = 46:14 | title1 = Hard Girls | music1 = KT Tunstall | extra1 = Tony Hoffer | length1 = 3:14 | title2 = Turned a Light On | music2 = Tunstall | extra2 = Hoffer | length2 = 4:34 | title3 = Maybe It's a Good Thing | music3 = Tunstall | extra3 = Hoffer | length3 = 4:01 | title4 = Evil Eye | music4 = Tunstall | extra4 = Hoffer | length4 = 3:34 | title5 = It Took Me So Long to Get Here, But Here I Am | music5 = Tunstall | extra5 = Hoffer | length5 = 4:18 | title6 = On My Star | music6 = Tunstall | extra6 = Hoffer | length6 = 4:16 | title7 = Two Way | note7 = featuring James Bay | music7 = Tunstall, James Bay | extra7 = Hoffer | length7 = 4:53 | title8 = Run On Home | music8 = Tunstall | extra8 = Hoffer | length8 = 4:27 | title9 = KIN | music9 = Tunstall | extra9 = Hoffer | length9 = 4:17 | title10 = Everything Has Its Shape | music10 = Tunstall | extra10 = Hoffer | length10 = 4:23 | title11 = Love Is an Ocean | music11 = Tunstall | extra11 = Hoffer | length11 = 4:17 }}

== Personnel == *KT Tunstall - vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, programming, flute, synths *Tony Hoffer - guitar, programming, synths, bass *James Bay - vocals (7), guitar (7) *Dave MacLean - programming, organ *Denny Weston Jr. - drums, percussion *Dave Palmer - organ, synths, keyboards, synth bass *Joseph Karnes - bass *Charlotte Hatherley - electric guitar, ambient guitar *David Campbell - strings arrangement (9)

==Charts== {|class="wikitable sortable" |- !Chart (2016) !Peak position |- |Swiss Albums Chart | style="text-align:center;"|96 |- |Scottish Albums Chart | style="text-align:center;"|7 |- |UK Albums Chart | style="text-align:center;"|7 |- |UK Album Downloads Chart<ref name="Kin - Official Charts">{{cite web |title=KIN |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/kt-tunstall-kin/ |website=Official Charts |access-date=4 January 2025 |language=en |date=22 September 2016}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|10 |- |UK Physical Albums Chart<ref name="Kin - Official Charts"/> | style="text-align:center;"|9 |- |Official Vinyl Albums Chart<ref name="Kin - Official Charts"/> (UK) | style="text-align:center;"|13 |- |Official Record Store Chart<ref name="Kin - Official Charts"/> (UK) | style="text-align:center;"|9 |- {{album chart|BillboardAlbumSales|72|artist=KT Tunstall|access-date=August 25, 2023}} |- {{album chart|BillboardRock|29|artist=KT Tunstall|access-date=August 25, 2023}} |- {{album chart|BillboardIndependent|23|artist=KT Tunstall|access-date=August 25, 2023}} |}

== Release history == {| class="wikitable" |- ! Region ! Date ! Label ! Format |- | Worldwide | 9 September 2016 | Caroline, Sony/ATV Music | CD, digital download CD+DVD |}

== References == {{Reflist|40em}}

Category:2016 albums Category:KT Tunstall albums Category:Albums produced by Tony Hoffer Category:Caroline Records albums