Heidi Howe is a singer/songwriter who absolutely refuses to be pigeon-holed. Taking influence from Dolly Parton, John Prine, Cyndi Lauper, Iris Dement, Todd Snider and Natalie Maines, the Louisville, Kentucky native has more than a decade of success behind her with huge respect as a songwriter who can more than match her contemporaries. In addition, the songstress, who has opened for such legendary alt-country acts as Jerry Douglas, Holly Williams, Stacey Earle, Tommy Womack, Jason Ringenberg and The Wood Brothers, has a huge voice (“that can fill a stadium”), emanating from a remarkably tiny human being. Yet not only is it powerful, but it is also extremely distinctive, and that’s one of many things that really sets her apart.
Now with her latest full-length album release, ‘Be Good’ (due February 2), she provides fans with an 11-song collection of really solid, well-written country/Americana tunes with catchy hooks, heartfelt songwriting and always earnest performances. Her sixth solo release, Heidi is perhaps a veteran of the Americana scene, but she still prefers to perform to small, intimate crowds, which helps the connections fans can easily make with these songs. Heidi says of her sound, “I attempted to make a record that felt more cohesive than my previous ones,” she explains. “Folks put me in the Americana genre, which seems to be a catch all for artists who are too outside the box for mainstream radio. I’d say my record is a country record, but there’s likely little hope of it being on mainstream radio….no trucks, no guns, no spilin’ your dip, no people on their death bed.”
But that’s exactly what fans are finding appealing about her music. Along with a whole host of other strong female artists and songwriters, she’s catering to the audience who are left feeling pretty sour by bro-country, or truck songs, or beer songs. That’s not to say, however, that alcohol isn’t predominant in Heidi’s perspective on this album. In fact, it’s near fundamental: “The overriding theme is addiction, both mine and other people’s,” she says. “I’ve been sober a good while now, but I love still adore alcoholics (and I notice that I prefer them sober). I fell in love and then the bottom dropped out. I wrote most of the songs when I was felt a little like I was drowning in anxiety and fear over the past few years. Writing helped me feel like I could do something about a situation that I really couldn’t do much about – loving someone with an active addiction. I don’t feel like it’s a “recovery album” by any means. If I didn’t just tell you that, you might not pick up on it.”
And it’s true. On the surface, ‘Be Good’ is simply about love and emotions, the kind that make the music industry go round. ‘Ruin Me’, Heidi’s favorite song on the record, is a delicate acoustic ballad that exposes a vulnerability that she puts so across so beautifully, but also heartbreakingly, “People think it’s a song about a person getting hurt, but really, the meaning is, “You’re so wonderful, you’ve ruined me for everyone else.” I wrote it the night before I got married in 2010. I’m not married anymore…but I still love that man to pieces.” Another favorite of hers is the cheery, sprightly ‘Kind of Crazy’, “[it’s] about falling in love, when the new hasn’t worn off yet,” she notes. “It’s about finding someone who gets you. It’s the oldest song on the record. I’ve known from the beginning that I wanted it to be upbeat and fun. I wanted it to kick off the record.”
Elsewhere Heidi dips into bluegrass (‘I’m Done’ ‘Ryan Adams Can’), traditional country (‘The Ramones & George Jones’ and ‘Be Good’), delicate folky sounds (‘Alright’) and modern country (‘Go Back’ ‘Stronger Than My Love’ and ‘Souvenir’). Aided by co-producer Howie Gano, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Greg Foresman (Martina McBride) and other musicians Jimmy Brown, Jeff McAllister, Eli Hall, Bob Ramsey, Jeff Guernsey, plus occasional backing vocalists Margarette Evans and Mark Stuart, Heidi has put together a great collection that will really strike a chord with listeners, both musically and emotionally, as well as being a beautifull-articulated narrative of addiction and the place of relationships within that self-destructive realm.
As well as touring to support the record (she’ll appear in NYC for the first time this year), Heidi will be headed to a Steve Earle songwriting camp in 2014 and play her CD release show on February 15. So if you’re still wondering whether to get listening, Heidi sums it up herself: “I guess I’m a twangy, smart-ass chick singer who aims to make people laugh, cry and think. I like being left of the dial.” No-one could say it better.
