The UK is at it again, directing our attention to yet another raven-haired beauty who can belt with the best of ’em. By now, the sonic evidence would suggest a factory somewhere, churning out trilling lasses for the masses. While Gabriella Cilmi joins her present-day counterparts Amy Winehouse, Duffy, and Adele in setting the sonic wayback machine, Cilmi’s debut, Lessons To Be Learned, is packed with more than soul transported from long ago.

Hailing from Australia (a geographical point of difference), Cilmi was discovered at age 13, singing “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” at a local festival. A year later, she had a record contract and was working with Xenomania, the production team responsible for Girls Aloud and Sugababes smashes. For the last three years (!) Cilmi’s been crafting her debut, and true to Xenomania’s track record, the recently-issued Lessons is a well-rounded disc that doesn’t settle into one groove for too long (another move that separates Cilmi from her chart contemporaries).

This kitchen-sink approach allows Cilmi to showcase her range, from stomping pop (“Don’t Want To Go To Bed Now”) and Spectorian heartbreak (“Got No Place To Go”) to torch balladry (“Safer”) and jazzy James Bond-inspired blues (“Cigarettes and Lies”). And it all works wonderfully; Cilmi is a charming vocalist.

Lessons begins with “Save The Lies,” a slice of slinky disco-rock that sounds like Rod Stewart by way of Anastacia. Hear here:

Right now, Cilmi’s enjoying chart success with first single, “Sweet About Me.” Its bouncy beat belies the no-Miss-Perfect lyrical sentiment (a page from the Winehouse playbook, to be sure, though “Sweet About Me” was written before the world checked into “Rehab”). Check out Cilmi’s clip:

Though sixty songs were reportedly written by Cilmi and team, just twelve made the final cut of Lessons To Be Learned. Consider me a willing pupil, too. I only want to hear more.

Preorder Lessons To Be Learned as reasonably priced import from Amazon, as there’s no word on a Stateside release.