Sia’s Soul-Baring 1000 Forms of Fear

The Australian singer-songwriter Sia Furler had a turbulent career as a solo artist in the aughts, but after a harrowing descent into addiction and mental illness, she gave up performing to write hits for superstars like Rihanna, Beyoncé and Britney Spears. Quickly, she became pop’s most in-demand tunesmith. Rappers and DJs featured her on their singles. The labels came calling again.

On her first album since her breakdown, 1000 Forms of Fear, out July 8, Sia proves herself to be an odd pop star. Her catchy, percussive lead single, “Chandelier,” describes the grim despair of alcoholism with a raspy vocal delivery that’s nothing short of unhinged. She refuses to show her face when performing, often obscuring it with a blond wig.

But for all her eccentricity, Sia’s songs are still conventional. On the storming power ballad “Big Girls Cry” and the hypnotic “Elastic Heart,” workmanlike refrains crash and soar predictably, but they provide just the right frame for her bracingly intimate lyrics. Wary of showing her face, Sia bares her soul instead, wielding her vulnerability like a weapon. It works: a gentler touch would have been wasted on songs as triumphant as these.

–SAM LANSKY