The third full-length release from chanteuse Andrea Revel is an appropriate calling card for the singer-songwriter, who has recently returned to Calgary after a five-year stint in Montreal. A tip of the straw bonnet to her alt-country roots, House of Sticks was recorded in Alberta’s foothills, a veritable reunion of Revel’s musically inclined associates. Acknowledging that it’s been one minute since her previous release, Citysong, scaled college radio charts in 2004, Revel’s latest bespeaks an ever-broadening sense of confidence that has allowed the artist to push her craft into previously uncharted landscapes and long unopened rooms.

A world apart from the Old Navy and Target TV ad ditties that heralded her initial success as a “commercial” artist, Revel’s easy-breezy vocals hit the Blue Velvet Lounge on “Don’t Think,” lilting into Lynchian melodrama. At once sweet, savvy and a little sassy, her refreshingly original lyrics provide a firm yet flexible framework for the expression of multi-tiered sentiments and day-dreamy introspections. But it’s not all quietly whispered love notes and soggy pillowcase laments. Indeed, “King of 8”’s hay bale reel-about would tax the fleet-footedness of any potential suitor, only to see the headstrong “Hummingbird Heart” wash that man right out of its hair.

Such carefully arranged numbers, infused with a wild and graceful spirit, are the palpable result of Revel’s emotional explorations, providing both comfort and cause for contemplation on tracks such as “Sailors and Thieves” and “September.” The glibly contrarian “My Twin” rounds out House of Sticks’ scrapbook of song, revealing the artist’s youthful innocence, gradually maturing into the nostalgic elegance of “Old Perfume Bottles.”

Speaking of knickers and lace, keep your ears and eyes peeled for Andrea Revel’s tune “Flapper Jane,” which will be featured on the soundtrack to the 2011 run of the HBO documentary series Cathouse.

Andrea Revel releases House of Sticks on Saturday, March 19 at Local 522.