White Lilies Island

White Lilies Island comes four years after "Torn" and her debut Left of the Middle propelled her into international stardom. It took a long time to get right, and it was worth the trouble. Produced by a variety of names including Ian Stanley and Pascal Gabriel, it also includes song collaborations with Pat Leonard (co-author of key Madonna hits). White Lilies Island has a driving, dramatic edge--particularly on the opener "That Day", and "Hurricane", a sweeping song about inexplicable passion. Natalie moves with ease between guitar-led rock and groove-orientated pop but it's obvious her heart lies with the former, particularly in the rich, freewheeling energy of tracks like "Goodbye" and "Do You Love?". --Lucy O'Brien

It's hard to ever top a debut single like "Torn". It was a moment of perfect pop that saw Natalie Imbruglia break the precedent set by other former Aussie soapstars branching out into music, by actually being good. Having steered clear of bubblegum pop and the obvious path her roots would suggest, Natalie has always stood out as a lady who doesn't want to be like the rest. Four years on from the guitar-fuelled ambitious pop of the Left of The Middle album, Imbruglia's return to the spotlight is an altogether more mature and confident collection of songs. "That Day", first single and the album's opener, is a strange choice to return with. Co-written with sometime Madonna-scribe Pat Leonard, it is breezy and Alanis Morrisette-like in tendencies, but lacking any great sing along chorus or catchy hook.

Unlike her last, this is not an album crammed to the brim with hit singles. There are moments of pleasant, carefree charm in "Satellite" and "Wrong Impression" (the best track on the album) but the majority shows Natalie's darker, serious side and is hardly going to set the charts ablaze. Obvious comparison for the sound are, on the face of it, respectable; "Sunlight" is decidedly Garbage-esque, the rocky power ballads "Do You Love?" and "Butterflies" take her almost to U2 territory of sullen, swooning vocals building into climatic choruses. However, despite a strong, distinctive voice and all the best intentions of carving a 'mature' and 'serious' image, the results are disappointing. There are no horror moments (although the slightly cringy anthemic ballad "Goodbye" cuts quite close to the bone) and it is obvious that a lot of thought and care has gone into White Lilies Island but it fails overall to light many fires. --Jacqueline Hodges

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