It took Joan Wasser far too long to burst into the public consciousness.

For years she plied her trade as a backing vocalist, hiding away behind frontmen in bands such as the Dambuilders and Those Bastard Souls. Jeff Buckley, rumour has it, dedicated “Everybody Here Wants You” to his then-girlfriend, while Antony and the Johnsons has also utilised her sultry tones.

But, two years ago, Joan finally emerged on her lonesome. Well, sort of – she still couched herself in the security of a group name, Joan as Policewoman, but debut Real Life was very much about the titular subject, exploring the frailties, successes, and failures of day-to-day existences.

Her new album To Survive continues her amazing journey – it’s another spellbinding record, maintaining the sense of spellbinding, stately and frankly beautiful songs. Its predecessor was a slow-build success story, coming to more and more attention through strong word-of-mouth support and critical plaudits. It has a lot to live up to, but it does so in spades.

“People are either really good actors or they are really excited about hearing the record,” Joan says of the anticipation for the release of To Survive. “I’m excited, and I leave for tour tomorrow and then it’s off and running.”

In some ways, To Survive feels like something of a conceptual or themed release, with many of the songs directly addressed to certain things – whether it be “To Be Loved” and “To Be Lonely” (which mirror one another), or the title cut and the album closer, “To America”.

“At one point I did imagine the whole record to be ‘to’ things,” she admits. “But I got tired of it – so I made some songs which were that, but certain songs didn’t fit in that mode and I didn’t try and force them. I’m fine with scrapping ideas.”

To Survive feels like a very deliberately paced record, where each moment has been meticulously planned and executed. It’s a surprise, as such, to hear that Joan as Policewoman’s live performances are becoming more chaotic, the direct opposite of how the record plays out, with Joan herself now standing when she plays keyboards. She explains that she’s less concerned about playing the ‘correct’ notes and more determined to impart emotion into her presentation.

“It’s happening in that moment and then it’s going to be gone,” she says of the performance aspect, as opposed to the recorded one. “I really do perform as if it is the last time I might be performing – I think you have to do that. I think you have to give it your everything every second, otherwise there’s no point to performing if you don’t do that. For sure there’s an elevated energy on the songs, and it doesn’t necessarily mean frantic energy – it can just mean very intense emotion.”

The album is imbued with emotion, in part inspired by the passing of Joan’s mother after a battle with cancer. “That’s something that most of us are going to have to deal with – losing our parents,” she says succinctly. “It’s a profound part of one’s life. It’s not easy, but it can be very rewarding if you really stay connected. The fact is that because I was on the road for so long, which is really fabulous and fun and rewarding, but it’s also a certain state of insanity.

“I feel like in a certain way a lot of the songs on this record reflect an interest in finding some solace through very difficult times and changes that you have no control over.”

The final song, “To America”, closes the album on a frankly beautiful duet with Rufus Wainwright, who she has worked with in the past.

“I write this song for him and I to sing,” Joan explains. “We had similar stuff going on in our lives and we feel very similarly about our country. The first part of that song is about cancer and the ruthlessness of cancer, and about how it takes over until it’s done without feeling.

“In the end I make America symbolise a mother,” she continues, “and the fact that this country feels like it has a terminal illness, but that there’s a lot of hope.”

Do you think that things are going to change, with the potential for Barack Obama to change the perception of America in the wider world, and at home?

“I do, I do,” Joan says confidently. “I think that Obama is going to get in, and I hope that I’m right – I’ve got to hope so because I want it to happen. I think a lot of people feel that way. There’s a lot of hope right now – how can there not be? We’ve just been dealing with the most absurd, horrible…” she trails off, leaving it left unsaid.

Joan as Policewoman’s To Survive is out now, and Joan will be touring with her band in October.