This singer-songwriter serves up a Scotch twist

It was about a year ago that the newest British Invasion hit the U.S., with such bands as Bloc Party, the Kaiser Chiefs, the Futureheads, Razorlight and all the other young dudes wearing a groove in America’s highways as they steadily built their momentum.

Part 2 of that Invasion got its Los Angeles launch on Thursday at the Troubadour, but this time the headliner arrived with the momentum already at a high pitch. KT Tunstall’s debut album, “Eye to the Telescope,” has sold more than a million copies in the U.K., reviews have been glowing, and she’s been nominated for three Brit Awards there, including one for best live performer.

And on stage at the Troubadour she showed why. Exuding a confidence forged during a decade of struggle, the 30-year-old singer -- accompanied by drummer Luke Bullen and frequently layering her vocal and guitar lines with an electronic device -- brought a harder edge and added rhythmic urgency to the songs from “Telescope.”

The hourlong set hit its peak with “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” her resonant single. With its dreamlike, elemental imagery and aggressive syncopation, it stood out starkly from the more restrained, more conventional material that surrounded it.

During an interview before the show, Tunstall explained that conventional was just what she had in mind.

“I was listening to ‘Tapestry’ by Carole King, and it’s just so meaningful and so easy, in the best possible way,” she said, sitting in her tour bus across the street from the club.

“You can relate to it and it means a lot, and that’s what I wanted to do for a first record -- not be too complex, just put down some songs that meant a lot to me that would communicate to people who never heard me before.... It wouldn’t excite me really to make elitist music, exclusive music.”

Tunstall (the KT is a contraction of her given name, Kate) grew up in cosmopolitan St. Andrews, Scotland, and in her late teens began writing and performing in local coffeehouses, influenced by such artists as Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits and the Velvet Underground.

She scraped by for years, participating in a community of like-minded musicians but not making any serious career headway. A few years ago she realized that if she wanted to make a living playing music, she needed to make a move.

She headed to London, where several record labels turned her down because she was “on the wrong side of 25,” as she put it. She finally signed with the Virgin-affiliated Relentless label and made a major splash with a short-notice appearance on the TV show “Later ... With Jools Holland.”

Tunstall may have secured her position in the U.K., but as many a Brit-rocker can attest, the trick is to transfer the momentum to the U.S. At the moment, Tunstall seems to be pulling it off.

The album doesn’t come out here until Tuesday, but on the brief tour that ended at the Troubadour she’s had to move her shows to larger rooms a few times because of ticket demand. She also made a high-impact appearance on “The Today Show” in December, and “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” is currently at the top of the radio airplay charts for the adult alternative format.

That record is significant for more than its popularity. The drawback to the directness and clarity Tunstall aimed for on her album is a shortage of mystery, and despite its rich, atmospheric arrangements and Tunstall’s powerful, bluesy voice, “Eye to the Telescope” sometimes succumbs to a prosaicness in its themes and lyrics.

But “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” is an encouraging indicator. She wrote and recorded the song after the rest of the album was completed, and added it to the CD after her British TV performance generated huge interest in the song.

“It’s turned out to be this big hit and everybody loves it, even if they don’t have a ... clue what it’s about,” Tunstall said, sprinkling her energetic conversation with some salty language.

“It’s probably opened the door to make it easier to do slightly kookier subject matter,” she added, citing her admiration for Beck’s ability to jump genres at will.

“I didn’t want to be limited. I wanted to make sure that what I did was gonna allow me to do other things and go in whichever direction I chose. It was really important to me not to be pigeonholed as something on this first record.

“All I’m gonna do is carry on making the music I’m going to make, and it may very well go into that area where I end up with 10 people at a gig because no one else wants to hear it.”

Wherever she goes, she’s in a hurry. Following the release of “Telescope,” she’ll put out a DVD in March of an acoustic recording session she did on the Isle of Skye, then return for a U.S. tour with a full band. Then it’s more songwriting, summer recording sessions and a new album late in the year.

“I think that would be brilliant,” she said of her market-flooding plans. “There’s this horrible habit that seems to be developing where people wait years between their albums. Especially at the beginning of your career I think it’s very invigorating to turn it over quickly.”