REMEMBER Alf, the ample half of Yazoo? The Essex girl could sing electronic chill (Winter Kills), pure pop (Love Resurrection) and classic ballads too (That Ole Devil Called Love).

Last year, she added show songs, resurfacing from home life in the West End musical Chicago. Conclusion: from the moment in 1981 when 'Alf' answered Vince Clarke's advert seeking a singer, and turned out to be a girl, Alison Moyet has never been predictable.

Eight years away from the recording studio since 1994's Essex, she returns with an assured and intimate album which, like her Chicago stage debut, takes her into unexpected territory. On Hometime, she avoids soul-diva showboating in favour of heartfelt experimentation, working in song-writing tandem with guitarist Pete Glenister, with Portishead and Goldfrapp as her new template. She can still burn her way through a bluesy torch song (If You Don't Come Back To Me) but who could have foreseen the voodoo of Yesterday's Flame, the Sixties psychedelia of Mary, Don't Keep Me Waiting or the chilled strings of Should I Feel That It's Over? That still soulful voice may be stronger than her ambitious songs but Moyet's comeback is one to cheer.

Updated: 10:01 Thursday, August 29, 2002