Serena Ryder has already left an indelible impression in Canada, where her album If Your Memory Serves You Well has been certified Gold and contributed to her winning the 2008 Juno Award for Best New Artist.

For American listeners, this sets the stage for is it o.k., her full length debut for Atlantic Records on which Ryder paints a self-portrait that's bitter in betrayal in "Sweeping the Ashes,"furious and yet not without affection in the hard-hitting "Little Bit of Red,"teasingly romantic on "Brand New Love,"struggling to understand another's pain on "Hiding Place,"even careening through cascades of contradictory emotion, almost from one word to the next, on "All for Love."

All of these moments Ryder brings to life with a performance that resonates in memory long after its last notes fade.