A backroom songwriter whose beneficiaries include Ronan Keating and Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts, the New Yorker finally releases her own debut after being sidelined by nodules on her vocal chords. Fully recovered, her voice is both steely and tender as she frames emotional defiance and distress in infectious pop-rock (“No Gold”), soaring ’60s girl-group pop (“Still In Love With You”), and weepy piano ballads (“Hang My Hat”, Burt Bacharach co-write “I’m Still Here). Worth the wait.