"I'm a siren," declares Heather Nova on her second studio effort, the aptly- titled Siren. "I'll wreck you on my shores." And why wouldn't she? Nova, who spent the first 15 years of her life sailing about the West Indies with her parents, feels a natural affinity for the sea, all things in it-- and for music, since the only electrical device on her family's boat was a tape deck on which she played Neil Young and the Beatles.

Nova (or "Supernova," as her devotees call her) is a woman of mercurial mood and strength, writing straight from the heart and the gut. The owner of one of the most incredible voices in music today, she creates memorable femme- pop with brains, wit and bite, delving into the core of human emotion and stripping away its cliches in the process. And unlike many songstresses (no offense, Natalie Imbruglia), she pens all of her own songs.

Her vocals glide languidly over a warm Moog in "Valley of Sound" and soar through an intriguing vibrato on "Heart and Shoulder." A survivor of domestic violence, Nova-- who fled to the U.K. when her abusive ex- boyfriend began stalking her-- confronts her pain in the mournful "I'm Alive" ("Some nights I'd sleep in the car/ Just to escape you/ You drove devotion too far/ No one could save you.") So, the next time you're wandering outdoors at night, glance upward at action in the stars above. You might be surprised at who you find up there.

-Susan Moll