On a Clear Night is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, released by Eleven on 28 April 2007.

She wrote more material while touring the US and at the end of the year travelled to Los Angeles to record with Mitchell Froom.

To help her break into the US market, Higgins' manager and Eleven's president John Watson endeavored to get her songs featured in US television shows.

Higgins started writing tracks for her second album as soon as she had finished recording The Sound of White, which was released in 2004.

She said, "I started quite early because I knew there would a lot of pressure for the second album and I didn't want to write songs under anyone's stopwatch.

[4] The lyrics for "Steer" were inspired when Higgins looked up at the night sky on a Broome beach: "It dawned on me how small we are, how short life is ...

"[8] They spent three months recording in Froom's home studio with session musicians including Matt Chamberlain (drums), Davey Faragher (bass) and Greg Leisz (mandolin).

[9][10] Neil Finn of Crowded House played guitar on "Peachy" and sang backing vocals on "Going North".

[16][17] Higgins spent November and December promoting the album in Australia on her For One Night Only Tour, taking in Cairns, Sydney and Perth.

[18] Eleven's president and Higgins' manager John Watson noted that her first album, The Sound of White had achieved limited success in North America.

[22] Higgins then spent 10 months of 2008 in the US promoting the album and toured as a support act with the Indigo Girls and then Ben Folds.

Writing for The Sydney Morning Herald, Bernard Zuel said that Higgins' second album was the chance to prove herself as a "special one", but that she had failed to do so.

Andrew Leahey of Allmusic said that On a Clear Night marks a development from The Sound of White and that the second album combines "sass with sweet sentiment" although at times is "a bit too calculated".

[25] He compared Higgins to Sarah McLachlan and Amy Winehouse, calling her "family friendly" but said that her popularity in Australia has not successfully spread to the US.

[25] A reviewer for Billboard noted that with this album, Higgins was trying to broaden her market and said that On a Clear Night would appeal to fans of KT Tunstall and the "Grey's Anatomy-soundtrack crowd".