"Shadows": Tiffany is here again!

Some albums really should be sent out to reviewers with the aural equivalent of a blindfold taste test. Put on the first song, "Hey Baby? Hmm: thumping drums, squalling guitar solo... is it Avril Lavigne? 

"I Like The Rain" follows, built around a neat riff and an air-punching chorus. Is Joan Jett making another comeback? Have The Go-Gos reformed again? No, it's Tiffany. Yes, I Think We're Alone Now Tiffany.

So, leave your prejudices at the door. The denim-clad mall queen left this building decades back. Tiffany Darwish is 51 now and has a considerable body of work behind her. She's made a disco album (2005's Dust Off And Dance], a country one (Rose Tattoo from 2011), but here Tiffany sounds at home, returning to the rock music she grew up on with themes that befit a middle-aged mom who's been through life's mill. Several of Shadow's tracks have been influenced by her recent divorce and other mid-life upheavals. And the album is all the better for it: Shadows sounds real.

Those first four tracks leap out of the traps like the Ramones on heat, but Shadows isn't just a power-pop album. There's a considerable breadth of material. "I'll Meet You Anywhere" and "I Love You" are lighter-waving ballads. 

"You're My Everything" is a strings-assisted piece of soul baring. 

There's also a spirited cover of Rival Sons' "Keep On Swinging", whose chorus could've been written for the indefatigable singer: "I keep my head down, but I keep on swinging".

Tiffany herself sings beautifully. There's a slight catch in her voice these days that reminds you of Stevie Nicks, and she can still belt it out, as the anthemic closing "Bed Of Nails" confirms.

Shadows is an album that deserves to find an audience beyond her fanbase. It's ballsy, heartfelt and, yes, real. Just like its maker.