SURELY you have to reach a certain level of fame before you can count on being on first name terms with the world.

Madonna, Kylie, Mariah, Whitney, Britney but Sia? For enlightenment, she is Sia Furler, regular Zero 7 collaborator (the one with the nasally, deep vocal).

It's an interesting voice - distinctive certainly, but lazy too, leaving you wondering at times what on earth she is on about. There are some big guns behind her on this, her third album. Henry Binns of Zero 7 co-writes on Electric Bird, and Turin Breaks lend a hand on the poppy The Girl You Lost To Cocaine.

Sia ups the quirkiness on Academia, with Beck joining her on the jaunty chorus. But ballads are where her voice displays its full range and loveliness, the highlight being her near-perfect cover of I Go To Sleep.