JOAN Wasser, aka Joan as Police Woman, will bring her sultry, smoky vocals to Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre next week, touring on the back of her fourth studio album, The Deep Field.

A more joyous record than her previous outings, Wasser cites Marvin Gaye, Sly and the Family Stone and Stevie Wonder as major influences.

“Stevie Wonder made positivity cool,” she says. “He always comes back to the basics, and you can hear the joy in his voice.”

While there’s a fine line between upbeat and cheesy, Wasser’s feisty record clearly falls into the former camp, exuding a sassiness and joie de vivre that’s refreshing to listen to.