It's been nine years since the release of the Magic Dirt frontwoman's second solo album All Day Venus, which followed her acclaimed 2011 debut Adalita.

While the music scene has changed overwhelmingly in the ensuing years, what has remained constant is the emotional intensity of Adalita's songwriting.

Album No.3 Inland is undoubtedly the most absorbing work of her celebrated career, including her long list of alternative-rock hits with Magic Dirt like Dirty Jeans, Pace It and Plastic Loveless Letter.

The album is one of obsession and sexual desire and how it unravels from the best intentions. These are topics Adalita, 51, has spent her 25-year career exploring from a woman's perspective.

Inland's songs were finished in 2015, and Adalita has spent the past seven years re-recording the tracks numerous times as she struggled with the arrangements and tempo, until producer and Art Of Fighting drummer Marty Brown helped her unlock the way forward.

Compared to her minimalist debut, Inland is panoramic.

The rhythmic drone of Adalita's guitar remains, but there's some glorious sonic moments that take her voice and melodies to new heights.

In Magic Dirt's prime they were known for hooky pop songs and it's a talent that remains strong for Adalita on the soaring Dazzling where she sings, "You're a pretty picture babe/ You make the walls peel back their paint."

Missed You begins as a haunting and country-tinged love song before bursting into a rock'n'roll epic of passion, as does the sparkling heartland tune Savage Heart.

On Equations Adalita sings "I lie here and do the equations/ I lie here with the frustrations" as she plots winning the gaze of her love interest from a rival.

The closing Abandoned Houses gives fans a taste of where Adalita is heading next with synths and electronic beats driving her narrative forward.

Inland is the album Adalita has been promising to deliver for decades. It's a career-defining moment when most of her contemporaries are struggling for relevancy.