Fantastic voyage

If there's a music genre for pop rock & soothe, KT Tunstall has nailed it. The Scottish singer-songwriter shows strong acoustic appeal on her sophomore album Drastic Fantastic, yet she still fails to showcase depth between tracks and music styles.

Tunstall, best described as Corinne Bailey Rae with a rocker's soul, follows up her sweet debut success with 11 tracks that are only distinguishable from one another after listening to the album several times. I'd most likely put the album on in the car for a day trip, letting Tunstall's sweet, soothing voice mix with the few powerful upbeat tracks.

Though I first fell in love with the singer-songwriter after hearing her upbeat stomp-like "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" (and once again with the over-played radio hit "Suddenly I See"), Drastic Fantastic shows the calming side in her voice and mature vocal talent.

"Hold On" -- the single off the album that I've had on my iTunes playlist for weeks -- showcases a much more pump-up beat reminiscent of "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree." It's definitely the funkiest track on the album, and I wish Tunstall would incorporate the blues and soul we all know she is capable of playing instead of cookie-cutter pop/rock that she has previously steered away from.

Lyrics-wise, Tunstall's mature voice mixes with simple truths in lyrics such as, "Hold on to what you've been given lately / Hold on 'cause the world will turn if you're ready or not" and "You could never understand the feeling / of what I'm leaving."

Though her relaxing vocals ease the listener on many tracks, Tunstall also gets a little lazy on the album, failing to create contrast between tracks. Her voice remains in a similar range and doesn't always challenge itself to be edgy -- something I know she has stretched to do in past songs. The tracks also cater to fans of more relaxing pieces, such as "White Bird" and "Someday Soon," which demonstrate Norah Jones-like vocals and gorgeous instrumental acoustics. The balance of Zach Braff-ish soundrack songs/acoustic lullabies and stripped-down production scream pure relaxation on a lazy late-summer day with a voice that refuses to disappoint.