On her first original album in a decade, Imbruglia melds whip-smart hooks and lyrics with a stylistic survey of pop and rock trends – to varying effect
![Natalie Imbruglia: Firebird review – a canny and carefree comeback](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/6b0cbfab3ebffe042a4f1b621813dd3e526a6056/680_1036_8005_4804/master/8005.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctcmV2aWV3LTMucG5n&enable=upscale&s=82e19f725acb9f120d37f71879ede529)
It’s the kind of comeback most pop stars can only dream of.
In 2021, nearly 24 years after she broke out with her international smash hit Torn, Natalie Imbruglia has played a crucial part in two of the year’s coolest pop records. A sample of her voice drifts in – like a warped AM radio transmission – from Pond House, the delightful, breakbeat-heavy first single from stalwart
British pop band Saint Ettienne’s 10th studio album, I’ve Been Trying To Tell You. And her spirit emanates from Solar Power, the breezy and sun-dappled third album by
New Zealand pop prodigy Lorde, which was inspired by the heart-on-sleeve 90s pop style, with its “bright, forward, shimmery acoustics” that Imbruglia typified.