Once in a generation there comes a singer who thrives as a strong, independent woman in a man's world. Not only that, but Kathryn Dawn Lang can tackle country, torch song and singer-songwriter confessionals in a warm, swoon-inducing voice.
She worked through her Patsy Cline infatuation with 1989's Absolute Torch And Twang, and the delectable Shadowland album a year earlier had established her in the top echelon of country singers. Country music, of course, was not big enough to contain her.
Her first album of original material since 2000's Invincible Summer, this year's Watershed is inspired by Lang's personal life and is a celebration of desire. Few singers have approached this level of sensitivity apart, perhaps, from Dusty Springfield on her classic Dusty In Memphis LP.
Watershed tells of a place where there's no hard outside, only soft inside, and the usual emotional defences are all removed. It's the natural habitat of the diva, and Lang certainly makes for a stunning one.
This is an important album for Lang; she wrote or co-wrote the material, produced it and played many of the instruments herself. It draws on the scattered phases of her career - a little jazz, a little country, a little cabaret - and is unified by that alluring, soft voice: lovely beyond reason, to paraphrase one of the songs here. In short, it is a magnificent vindication of her personality and ambition.
Tue July 29, The Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley Street, Central Manchester, 7pm, £35. Tel: 907 9000. www.kdlang.com
metro.co.uk