Pitchfork

Performing under the name Sissy Wish, Bergen-based Siri Ålberg wears Chucks and leotards on stage, sports a fierce bob, performs tap dance solos, and sings like a banshee approximation of Betty Boop. Obviously, she's got the pop-star image thing down, but more importantly, she and her band craft indie pop songs with an exaggerated sense of motion and movement, drawing from a range of sources: Siouxise & the Banshees, Cyndi Lauper, Karen O, Devo. Ålberg plays them to the rafters, insistent and intense.

"Dwts", from last year's Norwegian Grammy-nominated Beauties Never Die, now being released as a single, stands for "Do what they say." "They" could be some sort of discotarian regime or simply her sharp backing band, or it could refer to a song's beats and rhythms that translate to human movement. But she might as well be singing in first person instead of third: ""The rhythm makes it groove / I wanna move and spend my time on what it's for," Ålberg sings, as guitars pulse and new wave synths swirl around her. She wants to dance, damnit, and she wants you dancing with her. Ålberg uses the bridge for what's it for: to marshal the band's force and launch a much stronger attack on the chorus: "The city is on fire!" she sings ominously, before launching into a string of Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!'s so exuberant they're almost martial. On its final push, "Dwts" makes dancefloor conformity sound like an act of defiance.