Album: Ida Maria, Fortress Round My Heart (RCA)

Ida Maria grew up in Norway with little to do but wish she was Iggy Pop and act mildly antisocial.

"Oh My God" is her explosive calling-card, and on "Stella", yelling, "Stella, oh Stella, I wanna give you the world if you'll just stay with me tonight," she's one part Brando's Stanley Kowalski to two parts drunkenly pleading girl. "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked", with its proto-punk riff, and "Keep Me Warm" repeat the formula to lesser effect.

The music by her Norwegian band is Anglophile in the worst way; bouncy pop-punk that finds little of the excitement she desires. "See Me Through", in which she fears the existence of God, swerves into more interesting vulnerability, which in a year or so she may be ready to explore.

Pick of the album:'Oh My God', 'Stella', 'See Me Through'