Track Listing

1. Oh My God
2. Drive Away My Heart
3. Louie
4. l Like you So Much Better When You're Naked
5. Keep Me Warm
6. Forgive Me
7. Stella
8. In The Morning Light
9. Queen Of The World
10. See Me Through

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9261 in Music
• Released on: 2008-07-28
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
If you hadn’t already twigged by the title of her breakout hit, “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked”, Norwegian songstress Ida Maria is a feisty sort. Fortress Round My Heart finds her serenading a string of lovers and romantic conquests with a raucous energy, crooning that “you know I’m always as drunk as can be” on the skittering “Louie”, begging “Bring me whisky please” on “Queen of the World”, or on “Oh My God”, just cracking up in some histrionic nervous breakdown. For all Maria’s plain charisma and sense of fun, this could all be a bit much, so luckily keeping Maria’s taste for histrionics in check is a whip-smart band who veer between energetic punk rock and chugging pop conducted with a Strokes-esque minimalism. Tucked away in the corners of Fortress Round My Heart, meanwhile, are a handful of beautiful miniatures like “See Me Through”, a gentle lullaby conducted with dainty acoustic string plucks and shimmering cymbals--proof there’s more to this girl than what she throws out up front. --Louis Pattison

CD Description
Debut album from Ida Maria Sivertsen, the Scandinavian sensation whose combination of raw garage rock, hummable choruses, gamine good looks and deliberately provocative lyrical themes have seen her swiftly become an indie favourite and wincoveted slots at 2008's Isle Of Wight and Glastonbury festivals. Includes the singles 'Stella', 'Oh My God', 'Drive Away My Heart', 'Queen Of The World' and 'I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked'.

Customer Reviews

Oh My God! - Exuberant Punk pop
I'm too old to take any notice of the blurb they print on the front of CD cases and too old to take any notice of the hype or otherwise of the NME et al. I go on my own reaction to performers, and having seen these guys live, I love them. Yes there's a few clunky lyrics and a couple of fillers, but "Oh My God" really hits the mark for me. Pop should be fun, and this is.

Rock 'N' Troll
Yet another girl with a dream for the main chance.

The industry's continuing obsession with young female writer/performers
would appear to show little sign of abatement.

The playing field, however, is no longer a level one.

My CD copy bears a sticky label (yes another one of those annoying
un-asked-for little additions) in which an NME writer is quoted as saying
"she's the midpoint between the strokes and ms winehouse".
I am unable to perceive a continuum here myself and must therefore pass over this somewhat wayward observation without further preoccupation as to its' elusive meaning. (Ms Winehouse Indeed !!).

Ms Sivertsen's nearest rival would seem to me to be the estimable
Ms Macdonald with whom she shares some stylistic traits.
She lacks, however, the young Scot's charm, humour and canniness (the
latter a quality difficult to measure I will accept).

Perhaps it's a Nordic thing. All those long, dark winter nights.

'Fortress Round My Heart' begins well enough with the strident
'Oh My God' - it's wreckless, repetitive, somewhat folksey drive
a strong and lively opening number.

With 'Drive Away My Heart' the cracks begin to show.

This young woman is pushing her voice (especially in its' upper register)
into corners that it is ill-equipt to deal with.

'Louie' further confirms my anxiety, despite it being a fine uptempo
little number.
By the end of 'I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked' the poor
girl's larynx must have been red and raw.

'Keep Me Warm' slows things down briefly and provides a little respite,
allowing her to demonstrate a small glimmer of interpretive skill.

As far as rockers go 'Forgive Me' is perhaps the album's high point.
Messrs Tornby, Lindberg and Lundin deport themselves admirably.

'Stella' is a stinker.

'Morning Light' and the very fine 'Queen Of The World' lead us with
greater grace to the peaceful conclusion provided by the final and rather
lovely song 'See Me Through'.

So....A bit of a roller coaster but with enough highs and lows
to suggest that some success within the mainstream will follow.

I remain troubled, none-the-less, about the extent to which
Ms Sivertsen is clearly damaging her voice. Without a competent
vocal coach and with the prospect of much live performance
work, she will very likely need the attention of an ENT surgeon
within two years.

She must look after herself because the industry will not.

Terrible.
Well Ida Maria fans, get your mouses (mice?) hovering over the "no" button...

Someone I know, mentioning no names, picked up this album in a local music shop, took one look at the "missing link between The Strokes and Amy Winehouse" sticker on the front and put it straight back on the rack. As far as I'm concerned he had a very lucky escape.

First time around all I could stomach was 30 seconds each of the opening four tracks. But I'm nothing if not fair so in the interests of, well, this review I tried again and made it all the way through. Again I was far from impressed.

Make no bones about it, it's the "funny" lyrics to I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked that have got Ida Maria any mainstream attention at all.

Derivative, unoriginal and, frankly, not very good at all. One reviewer suggested she's almost the "female Jack Penate". And to be honest, I would tend to agree. Yes, she is THAT bad.