Three years ago, Heather Nova introduced herself as the lanky blonde with the fluttery voice beckoning listeners to "Walk This World" with her. On Tuesday she releases her second album, "Siren," a balanced effort anchored by Nova's versatile voice and songs.

Cheery rockers like "London Rain" and "Widescreen," reveal Nova's ability to craft hooky songs without resorting to mediocrity. In "Rain," Nova's warm narrative woos a longtime lover while reflecting on her newfound fame, singing "There've been changes beyond my dreams/ Everybody wants me to sing."

But Nova is an equally capable balladeer, especially in numbers like "Paper Cup" and "Blood of Me," where her soprano becomes a Jeff Buckley-esque sob. In "I'm Alive" she sings of surviving an abuser in harrowing verse: "Some nights I'd sleep in the car/Just to escape you/You drove devotion too far."

Nova's bold sensuality -- glimpsed in the "I want you to come" lines of "Walk This World" -- shines again in "Avalanche," where the metaphor of the title becomes a veil for more carnal matters. "When you go down, take me/When you go down, yeah, make me," she purrs.

With her gorgeous voice and unique way of describing the world, Nova's "Siren" is a provocative album capable of propelling her into the spotlight.

-- Beth Winegarner

This article was originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle.