Artist: Heidi Howe
Album: Be Good
Genre: Alt-Country, Americana

“Going through the pain of the past few years and coming out the other side was and is a pretty big accomplishment to me. The album feels a little like a merit badge I got for that.”

Howe’s vocals are literally the first thing you’re introduced to upon entering Be Good, and it’d be easy to label them as “jarring” or even “grating” initially; an acquired taste if you will. But, for anyone familiar with the great Dolly Parton or Oklahoma sweetheart Kristin Chenoweth, the comparisons will come easily and potentially make you feel a bit more at home with the somewhat nasally approach throughout this 11-track effort. Myself being far from well-versed in country music and the like did admittedly find it cumbersome at first, but Howe’s vocals aren’t bad in any sense really, they just simply had to grow on me in time as the style wasn’t something I was overtly familiar with.

Once you warm up to the vocals on Be Good, it’s impossible to not notice the beauty in the arrangements of each track. They’re country through and through but there’s a very welcoming, twangy Southern vibe about them. The range of instruments, particularly the strings, go hand in hand with Howe’s lyrical content and vocal delivery. Pedal steel, mandolin, fiddle and guitar are all on display throughout Be Good and even as the songs are mostly simplistic in structure, the prowess evident from each musician involved is impressive and refreshing. The fact that nothing is overly complicated is likely a blessing for the album as well.

“The Ramones And George Jones” is one track in particular that shows where Howe has come from and who she is today. It’s the references like this throughout the album that show how much of Be Good is based on personal experience and Howe’s personality split between a genuine heart, a tough, punk-rock mentality, and a jokester’s smart-ass attitude. All of these sides shine through and it makes for a relatable listen and a window into the type of musician and person Howe is. Touching on past addictions and relationships gone awry, Be Good has a very honest nature which again lends a hand to Howe’s character. She puts her heart into these creations for herself and for the world to see and hear.

“I don’t know how to be good / I put up a fight / I spend my life trying to figure love out / seems I’ve been wasting my time.”

Heidi Howe has crafted a very solid alt-country record with Be Good. There are no major hiccups in the flow from track to track but at times, even despite the stellar instrumentation, it can start to feel like a bit of a blur as the songs kind of blend together in a slow swirl of old-timey folkness. However, there is always some point of energy that comes about to breathe life back into the track and the listener, and as the album barely breaches 40 minutes total, it never feels too long as a whole to have you anticipating its end.

Howe’s already made a name for herself within country and its various sub-genres, but Be Good should be the push she needs to really break through into a more mainstream audience.

SCORE: 7/10
Review written by: Brian Lion — (Follow him on Twitter)

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Brian Leak

Editor-In-Chief. King of forgetting drinks in the freezer. Pop culture pack rat. X-Phile. LOST apologist.

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