NEW ALBUM: NATALIE IMBRUGLIA | FIREBIRD

She is perhaps best known for her smash hit single "Torn," now, Natalie Imbruglia made a long-awaited return to music. The Australian singer, 46, has released her new album "Firebird," which serves as the first album to feature original material since 2009's "Come to Life" and Imbruglia's first release with BMG Rights Management's record label. The production is clean and sleek and has a '90s kind of feel to it. "Firebird" starts with "Build It Better," an uptempo inspirational number just like you'd find at the beginning of a Mariah Carey or Celine Dion album back in the day. "Build It Better" is the peppiest song on the record; the rest of "Firebird" is decidedly more subdued. The self-empowerment anthem "Nothing Missing" was written by KT Tunstall, and her influence is present in the guitar strumming style and the lyrics. A wave of new pop acts are embracing the sort of breezy guitar pop music Imbruglia helped popularise around the turn of the century, including Rina Sawayama and Slayyyter; and Lorde covered "Torn" during a TV appearance this year, "Firebird" serves as Imbruglia's very first co-production. "I think that maybe I know what I'm doing," she laughs. "There's been a long time where I've been trying to find my feet. It was wonderful to work with Natalie and My Riot [album co-producers] and have them give me that respect and share that responsibility. I'm very detail-oriented, and because of lockdown, we were afforded the time to really hone in on things and go back. They were so patient with me."