Sia Furler – or Sia as she likes to be known – crept onto the music scene over 10 years ago and critical acclaim and international chart success have followed the outspoken Australian. Yet, the Adelaide-born singer is far from a household name, especially in Australia, and despite releasing five albums including We Are Born, she is better known for guest appearances, collaborations and remixes of her tracks rather than her solo work.

I was first introduced to Sia back in 2001 when Different Gear remixed her Drink To Get Drunk single. Her voice was (and still is) amazing and the remix a progressive house hit, but what stuck in my mind was Sia’s off-the-cuff remark about the remix, which broke her into the English music scene along with Wookie’s UK Garage remix of Little Man. Essentially, it came across that Sia didn’t want her originals remixed into songs she didn’t particularly fancy and she wasn’t backwards about coming forwards with her thoughts. Her outspoken views are perhaps part of the reason why she has recorded with so many record labels over the years, whether through choice or otherwise, and I imagine they are a driving force behind her incisive and cutting lyricism.

Australia’s triple j is this country’s biggest fan of Sia. You’ve probably heard Clap Your Hands getting some serious air-time over the last few weeks, and deservedly so: it’s an unabashed sing-a-long anthem beautifully syncing raspy vocal delights with upbeat pop sensibilities. More commercially, the Nova radio station picked up You’ve Changed and thrashed this gospel dance number to all and sundry. It seems that now Sia’s homeland is finally catching up to the UK with appreciation for the songstress.

But Sia hasn’t done it alone. Nick Valensi, the guitarist from The Strokes features on several tracks on the album, and the name-your-big-name female pop artist producer Greg Kurstin also lends a hand. There’s samples from The Cure’s Close To Me on the upbeat Stop Trying and a beautiful cover of Madonna’s Oh Father that wouldn’t have appeared out of place on the Donnie Darko soundtrack. With The Fight and Bring The Night, the now-popular use of the voice of children is used to good effect, and on Be Good To Me, Sia’s recent production work with Christina Aguilera really comes to the fore, as she challenges Aguilera to the diva title.

In the end, however, it is Sia’s voice and songwriting skills that make her especially memorable. Those qualities are likely to make this release the commercial success she has been seeking. She described We Are Born as the album she had wanted to make since her 2004 release Colour The Small One, which was in my view her defining and most masterful work. This album is a far cry from the down-tempo Zero 7-inspired swooners that were her bread and butter in the early noughties.

What it is though, is intelligent pop music, pop music born from an alternative background with choruses will echo in your thoughts long after the record has finished. It’s just a shame that Sia has indicated that she will quit music after this record, which while regrettable, seems to align well with her outspoken ethos. Catch the raspy allures of her voice in concert while you still can.

We Are Born is out 18 June on Monkey Puzzle Records through Inertia.