Her voice is a battle between cockney twang and rural purr, while her music combines folk, dance and electro-pop with a result she has given up trying to label beyond "psychedelic folk-soul".

Amid a seemingly endless torrent of bland singer-songwriters, the reappearance of Beth Orton's genuinely unique solo ability is a relief, even if she remains full of contradictions.

In 1996 Orton created a gentle masterpiece in the form of debut LP Trailer Park. A compelling blend of delicate folk, edgy triphop and electronica, the album earned her two Brit Award nominations and established the singer as a truly exceptional talent.

In the decade since then, the defining quality distinguishing the six-foot Norfolk lass has always been the genre-straddling nature of her music.

The likes of William Orbit, the Chemical Brothers and Primal Scream producer Andrew Weatherall have helped her to consistently push boundaries while retaining her hauntingly teetering vocals.

"I can't tie it all up, it almost seems as if there is too much," she admits when pushed to define her influences. "I immersed myself in songwriters but I was brought up in a house where the walls literally shook from the music played by my brother, who went through every genre of music from punk to hip-hop and everything in between."

Recorded in two weeks with adjunct Sonic Youth guitarist Jim O'Rourke, her latest offering, Comfort Of Strangers, promised adventure but has delivered mixed results.

Orton's timelessly beautiful voice remains as striking as her rakish figure. But few of the tracks appear to possess the underlying darkness which marked previous albums Central Reservation and Daybreaker out from the banality of her peers.

The intricacies of O'Rourke's craft, alongside Orton's trademark warmth, still provide an aural allure. But it lacks the exquisite class of her previous efforts and runs the risk of becoming Radio 2 fodder.

Her captivatingly joyful stage presence also contrasts with the shimmering sadness her tones. "When you do what you love to do, you're just happy," she says.

Starts at 8pm. Tickets cost £18.50, call 01273 709709.