Fortress Round My Heart

Ida Maria, Ida Maria | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 14, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mercury Records
• ASIN: B001V7UXB2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,571 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Oh My God

2. Morning Light

3. I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked

4. Stella

5. Keep Me Warm

6. Forgive Me

7. Queen Of The World

8. Louie

9. Drive Away My Heart

10. In The End

Editorial Reviews

Time

"This 24 year old Norwegian has a powerhouse voice.... Ida Maria turns her lyrics into epic drama."

"Ida Maria...Courtney Love minus the bullshit plus more charm..."

"Meet the Norwegian garage-pop singer of your future."

Product Description

Born and raised in the icy Norwegian stillness of the Arctic Circle, Ida Maria brought a new cool to the top of the pops when her first single release in the UK, "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" hit #13 on the national chart and sent her debut album, FORTRESS ROUND MY HEART straight inside the Top 40.

FORTRESS ROUND MY HEART - which drew 4 star UK reviews in Q magazine and The Guardian - has now been signed to Mercury Records, and will be distributed by Fontana in a close collaboration with a March 24th digital release. "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" was officially released as a digital single in the U.S. earlier this week (on February 24th). Ida Maria's song "Oh My God" will be used in all the Gossip Girl promos for this season. Originally airing 2/23, the promos will continue for months ahead!

On the heels of her 30-show, sold-out headlining UK tour in November, four critically acclaimed showcases in Los Angeles and New York, and NME's prestigious Shockwaves Awards show earlier this month - Ida Maria and her band (Stefan Törnby on lead guitar, bassist Johannes Lindberg, drummer Olle Lundin) will play their first U.S. tour in March. Kickoff is the South By Southwest (SXSW) Music and Media Confer­ence in Austin, Texas, March 18-22. Dates will continue in New Orleans, Atlanta, Washington DC, West Chester (PA), Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Boston. Ida Maria will return to the U.S. for a performance at the Coachella Festival in California on April 18th.

24-year old Ida (pronounced ee-dah) Maria grew up in Nesna, Norway, a university town of fewer than 2000 people north of the 66th latitude. When she moved to the great city of Bergen as a teen, she rubbed shoulders with everyone from metal bands to avant garde jazz musicians and bluegrass singer-songwriters. There she "discovered the inner beast that was hiding in my vocal chords." At the same time, she developed into a formidable songwriter, informed by a benign variant of synaesthesia, a rare condition in which perception in one sense mode arouses imagery from another, so that one can see sounds or hear colors, for example.

Following the success of "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked," "Oh My God" was issued as a new single, and earned a 4 star review from RollingStone.com. Time magazine placed the song at # 3 on their "Top Ten List of Everything in 2008," praising her "powerhouse voice - deep, commanding, a little masculine, exotic, too, like Nico, but with an abundance rather than an absence of feeling."

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alternative? Punk? Everyone is talking about the new sound honey but it's still Rock 'n' Roll to me. I love this album., July 14, 2009

By 

John P. Thiel "John T." (Astoria, Queens, New York City) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fortress Round My Heart (Audio CD)

(What's this?)

Typically, when I order an album from an artist I never heard of it turns out to be a mistake, and I swear to myself I'll never do it again. Especially if I'm in the position of having to review the album, I hate to write anything negative--as I must it seems--because it belittles the hard work and years of commitment these artists put into their music. This time, I don't have any such problems because this album is terrific in every way.

Thank goodness I ignored the warning signs, such as the labels "Alternative" and "Punk." Seriously, why is any popular music out of the U.K. labeled "Alternative" and what the hell does that mean anyway? Seems like unless it's from the British Invasion era, it's considered Alternative Music. As for Punk, as a guy who grew up in the 80's I'd have to say this album reminds me more of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and not the least of Sid Vicious.

I especially like the live sound of this recording and suspect--note to self: read the album cover--this was recorded live to track rather than with the musicians coming in separately on a schedule. I would be very suprised if this band didn't sound even better live--as most performers these days can't pull off, relying more on technology than musicianship.

I love that none of the music sounds commercial--perhaps that's what "Alternative" means--and yet it's upbeat and energetic. Every song is very positive. No ballads of depression or songs that tread on our already overworn like of trendy or catchy commercial music.

My favorite song on here is "Queen of the World" and feel it's the best example of the tone of the album.

Like I said, I wont nitpick or tell you what to think of this album, but I will say that if you're looking for something to try, something that you're very bound to just plain like, I would definitely recommend this album.

BOTTOM LINE: You'll be singing it in the shower in no time.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You're Still Wondering...YES, the album is Good!, June 14, 2010

By 

John Jennings - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fortress Round My Heart (Audio CD)

I simply don't understand why so many people have been giving this album a 4 or less. Maybe because there was a lot of hype surrounding the album (and you know how people like to blame everyone but themselves, when it doesn't live up to their expectations)...

Maybe because they listen to too much of this genre and think it doesn't stand out enough (again, that's their problem, not the album's)

This album is awesome, start to finish. I can pop this in and smile and hum these songs for the rest of the day. It's really catchy, fun, punk flavored party music.

"Oh My God" and "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" are good songs, but I'm surprised no one mentioned "Queen of the Night" or "Louie" (...and Louie was found catchy enough to wind up on a commercial).

If you want to put some tunes in your car to speed around and cheer you up...or dance to at a party (or around the house)...this is such a perfect album. It's an album so good that I'm worried that her second release won't live up to it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I like me so much better when you're naked., June 26, 2009

By 

Jason Stein (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fortress Round My Heart (Audio CD)

(What's this?)

On Ida Maria's debut, "Fortress Around My Heart", she brings that old school punk with modern production touches roaring back. The one-two-three punch of the opening tracks "Oh My God", "Morning Light" and "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" blast this album out of the trash and into your brain cells.

This isn't to say that Ida is perfect. There are a few missteps like "Keep Me Warm", "In The End" and "Louie", but even these songs are fairly decent. Ida has so many good songs here it's easy to forget that "Fortress Around My Heart" is just a debut. She seems like she's been making professional music for years.

Other standout tracks include "Forgive Me", "Queen Of The World" and "Drive Away My Heart".

As someone who grew up on punk/new wave, "Fortress Around My Heart" reeled me in, and kept my attention for it's 31 minutes. A new talent has arrived from Norway/Sweden, and I look forward to hearing what Ida comes up with next. I give "Fortress Around My Heart" four stars, with room for improvement next time.