Kelis has always been a tricky one to pin down. After debuting on ‘Ol Dirty Bastard’s “Got Your Money,” she was the Janet Jackson to the Neptunes’ Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, a collaborator and vestal for a production team at the height of their powers. In 1999, during the rise of the Neptunes’ commercial dominance, Kelis’ debut album, Kaleidoscope, was the first to be wholly produced by the duo. While it didn’t gain mainstream success—curious because at the time the Neptunes’ sound had a stranglehold on radio—it did prove that Kelis had no problem with sonically adventurous tracks. However, Kaleidoscope was successful in Europe and initiated the two nations path in which Kelis began to exist, further evidenced by her second album, Wanderland, also solely helmed by the Neptunes, not being released in America after its first single, “Young Fresh & New,” failed to make an impact on the US charts. The track did have modest success in the UK and put her in the position to be able to collaborate with Bjork on the Icelandic singer’s “Oceanic.”

Yet, if anyone in America knows Kelis for anything, it’s for “Milkshake,” the first single from her third album, Tasty. Smart money would have suggested that this record would also slip under the radar, but in the weird way that the world works, “Milkshake” was a monster hit. As one of five songs on the record produced by the Neptunes, it’s in line with their earlier collaborations. But this one struck a chord, and even now, it’s quoted in pop culture and internet memes, which is especially odd for such a peculiar song. While the chorus is undeniably catchy, the verses are weird, and flattened, sparse snares and almost atonal talk singing don’t scream pop hit. And yet it catapulted Kelis into the seemly unattainable sphere of pop stardom,  from which she was promptly excused with the release of her next record, Kelis Was Here. While “Bossy” was a minor hit in the US, her moment seemed to be gone, and the follow-up, the dancefloor-minded Flesh Tone, didn’t seem to change her fortunes much.

This sets up an interesting dynamic for her latest album, Food. Having had commercial success with the producers of the moment, but now signed to the experimentally minded UK label Ninja Tune, which Kelis would be showing up to the party is the question. Hunkering down with TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek, it seems like Kelis might be trying to invoke the spirit of her first two albums. Sitek proves to be a perfect foil, cooking up (forgive the pun) a mix of Afrobeat, Memphis soul, and electronic beats blended with live instrumentation. There’s nothing as off-kilter as some of the tracks the Neptunes gave her in the past, but the eclectic pop sensibility Sitek brings has just that right twist.

The only ding against Sitek’s production style is that sometime when the arrangement is too straight ahead, Kelis’ voice sits oddly. Since she’s not a “sanger” her idiosyncratic voice sometimes needs a little more support. Make no mistake she can deliver the goods, as the song “Floyd” proves, but when she has to belt, it’s not as successful. However, when Sitek puts the right sounds around her, you can see why Kelis is someone people always seem to pull for. The closest sonic parallel would be Neneh Cherry’s current record, Blank Project. In a weird way, Kelis seems like she’s the spiritual daughter to Cherry. The unconventional vocals, the multiple career paths—they’re almost like bizarro versions of each other. In so many ways, Food is an extremely well constructed re-introduction to an artist who may have gotten a little lost in the wilderness. Here’s hoping people are finally ready to come to the table.