Let's face it; it isn't easy being a female singer songwriter. With even Jewel taking a turn to shake it Britney-style, the chips have never been more stacked against a woman who (shock horror) might have something to say. Cue Missy Higgins who, after winning Triple J's Unearthed competition a few years ago, opted to finish her high school studies before embarking on a serious musical career. Now signed to Daniel Johns and Paul Mac's label Eleven, her E.P. arrives with a great deal of substance but little fanfare, which is a shame, because there's a good deal to make noise about here.

Opening track 'Greed For Your Love' bears more in common with The Waifs than say Sarah McLachlan upon first listen. A bouncy and guitar-driven song, it covers so much territory passing over anger and sex, you can't help but feel it's the kind of song Nick Cave would be proud of.

'Falling' sees Missy return to the piano, which is where she first captured people's attention. By now her lyrics have captured your attention as much as the music, and it's clear as much time has been spent on these as the melodies themselves.

The third track, 'All For Believing', is by far the stand out track, and the song which won Unearthed in 2001. A stunning and heart wrenching tale of love found and lost and perhaps found again, you would need a heart of stone to not be moved by this absolute giant of a song. The E.P. is worth the price of entry for this song alone, and if Higgins never manages to pen a song equal to it (it can be argued that few artists would manage even one), she should remain a solid member of the Australian song writing fraternity.

Closing out the album is 'The Special Two', a sad lament and an ode to a relationship that was. If you have gone through a break-up recently, I'd suggest you steer clear. The song manages to perfectly encapsulate the loss of a loved one yet retains the optimism that love brings and manages to look back on the relationship with a fondness and romanticism that escapes most songs about heartbreak.

The Missy Higgins E.P. deserves to be in your collection for several reasons, not the least being that on the strength of these four songs, a shot at a full album is more than deserved. Artists of Higgins' potential are once in a generation and she deserves to be recognised for the distance she has already travelled at just twenty years of age.