“I’m so sick and tired of the shit on the radio…” That’s the opening salvo from the one summer album you’ll want to start saving your lunch money for — now. Esthero’s Wikked Lil’ Grrrls , scheduled for a June 25 release.

Toronto’s Esthero is a cocktail of everything that’s fabulous about being a girl singer. Her vocal intimations are dazzling: There’s the tart sass of Gwen Stefani, the academic pop approach of Bjork, the rootsy funk of Erykah Badu and the jazzy grumblings of a mid-career Billie Holiday. And yet: Compare, cross-reference, call-to-mind — in the end there’s just Esthero — (her name an anagram for Esther-The-Hero) — the same one-of-a-kind Canadian who delivered 98’s very best, most underappreciated, electro trip hop album, Breath From Another — and then, like a fickle goddess — disappeared. Leaving smart, in-the-know, music fans heartbroken. Seven years of tears.

Well, dry your eyes boys — Wikked Lil’ Grrrls is everything that made Breath float into your player and never leave. Only better.

She’s upped the stylistic shifts this time, moving away from Breath’s techno-hop, Portishead vibe and deeper into accoustic pop bents. Like the crazy-making Swing out Sister-ish stomp of the confrontational opener: We R In Need Of A Musical Revolution: “…no matter where I go I see Britney in the video. I want something more!” (Imagine her reaction to the debut of Britney & Kevin: Chaotic last week?) There are also the swinging Duke Ellington flapper flourishes on the title cut. And killer ballads, like the sultry Gone, where she teams with rapper Cee-Lo, and comes off like a Quiet Storm-channeling Beyonce doing a long lost Babyface classic. Catch them all on her new website.

Despite the appearance of folks like Sean Lennon, Andre 3000, Cee-Lo and Dr. Dre cohort Camara Kambonut this isn’t one of those confused, guest appearance-glutted, hodge podge, “I’d like to thank God,” albums. Wikked Lil’ Grrrls is all Esthero, all the time — the same special incantations that only fans of the first album will recognize: A kind of unfettered, fun-loving, experimental moxie. In other words the real shit.