While record labels chase down talent show rejects and soap opera stars in the hope of finding the next big pop artist, an Adelaide native is making brilliant music to worldwide acclaim. That is worldwide acclaim apart from in her home country. Australia, it’s time to wake up.

Once upon a time in a city of immense musical talent called Adelaide, Sia fronted a little known band named Crisp. With little chance of a breakthrough in the somewhat stale Australian pop scene, Sia headed off to the UK where she initially found fame collaborating with dance act Different Gear, the sublimely catchy Drink To Get Drunk huge on Triple J. Fast forward to 2006 and her track Breathe Me takes viewers out of the final episode of the hugely successful Six Feet Under on American TV. In the US Sia had arrived.

For some reason though, Triple J exposure aside, Sia is still largely unknown in her own country. While this album’s bonus track Buttons was belatedly added to Nova playlists this was more a response to celebrity blogger Perez Hilton ’s praise than recognition of real talent. This album is far better than any pop release in Australia during the year 2008. It’s instrumentation is spot on and drags you in from the get go, while the lyrics draw you in with equal parts raw emotion and pure vocal talent. This has everything real pop music should have you can feel the emotion in the anything-but-throw-away lyrics and the choruses which saw to a crescendo that makes you beam from ear to ear. For me, the up-tempo The Girl You Lost to Cocaine is the pick of the bunch, but Little Black Sandals with its rootsy feel and the sing song nature of Academia see them vying for equal attention.

There is no point searching any further, fantastic pop music is made by one of our own.