Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records

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If you've spent any time in Australia over the last five years, chances are you know who Missy Higgins is.

The Melbourne singer has become a major success Down Under since releasing her debut album, "The Sound of White," in 2004.

Her triumphs include seven Australian Recording Industry Association awards (the Grammy's, koalafied) and a stint as one of the top-selling artists in 2005.

Higgins is now making a strong effort to break onto the American music scene. She has been touring the States in solid chunks for the last two years and comes to the Rialto Theatre on Sunday to promote her latest release, "On a Clear Night."

She will be joined by Brett Dennen, a regular on the Mountain (92.9-FM).

Here's what we learned in an interview with Higgins late last week:

She remembers her last visit to Tucson. "I think it was for a radio thing. I really liked Tucson, actually. It was a crazy town, the way it was laid out. It is kind of in the middle of nowhere, but kind of hip at the same time. A lot of cool little pockets."

She attempts to keep things "green" on the road. "Every tour I've done so far, we've offset with carbon credits, renewable energy credits. I've tried to make my tours as environmentally friendly as possible. To drive all of it, except for the flight at the end of the tour. We are driving a biodiesel tour bus and things like that. It would be hard to make our lives completely carbon-neutral without quitting our jobs because pretty much all of an artist's income these days comes from touring. I think it is our responsibility not only as role models, but as human beings to try to lessen our impact on the environment."

She might be taking time off after this latest tour through the States. "In my head, I haven't got a timeline, but I think I am after this album. I am going to ride it out in America for its lifespan and then see where my heart wants to go and follow it."

"On a Clear Night," produced by Mitchell Froom of Elvis Costello fame, took longer than expected.

"The record ended up taking four-and-a-half months, which is funny because it was a very laid-back atmosphere in the studio. We went in there and we started to record these songs quickly. But it soon became apparent that the songs wanted to take their time and wanted to be given breathing space. Mitchell suggested, 'Why don't we not try to rush through this? Why don't we just chill out and try to follow the song instead of trying to make something too fast?'

"We recorded in the back of Mitchell's house, in his home studio. It was a homey atmosphere. He made us home-cooked meals, and all of us musicians would have tea and biscuits between songs. It was all very civilized."