Stephanie Bettman’s far from a novice. The fiddler, singer/songwriter, and touring musician has written seven full-length releases while spending fifteen-plus years performing live as one-half of the Folk/Americana duo Bettman & Halpin. However, the pandemic prompted her to re-evaluate her artistic aims. Bettman has shifted her songwriting focus from examining the world around her and relating stories she’s witnessed along the way towards a much more personal art instead built on intimacy and promoting intimate positive values. Her turn in this direction pays off with the single “Be Big” and sets the stage for an even brighter future.
URL: https://www.stephaniebettman.com/
Dramatic power is evident from the first. Bettman invests the single’s opening with understated yet effective atmospherics present throughout the entirety of the cut. Experienced music listeners will be struck by the near-progressive pop driving this track forward – it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine venerable prog acts such as Kansas or Asia essaying this tune. The surging vitality that soon overtakes the song’s pace serves Bettman quite well. Her impassioned vocal rides that tidal wave of sound with one part confidence and a second part inspiration audible to anyone listening.
The lyrical content has a lot to recommend it. Bettman focuses her message with short and declamatory lines, especially during the song’s chorus, and the design of each line further accentuates the song’s percussive force. She maintains the same even-handed tone throughout the song’s entirety. The interplay between the words and her full-throated delivery imbues Bettman’s writing with an undeniable sense of stakes that announces “Be Big” as a virtual mission statement for her work moving forward from here.
The robust production attributes add another layer of meaning to the performance. Her vocals are the unquestionable center of the performance, but she’s achieved an exquisite balance between each individual component of the song. It’s a full-spectrum performance that doesn’t leave listeners wanting.
Nor does it overreach. Clocking in at a little over three minutes in length makes it a near-ideal pop song length for Bettman’s target audience and never leaves listeners feeling cheated. There are no extended instrumental breaks scattered throughout the arrangement, it isn’t that sort of song, but the polished level of professionalism present throughout the performance will win over both casual pop music fans and music purists alike. It’s substantive and accessible.
It’s a first-class way to introduce listeners to the new avenue she’s traveling. Bettman gives herself over to pop music without any hesitation, and it pays off with an enormous and wildly entertaining ride that doesn’t have a perceptible weak point. There’s no question she’s labored mightily to deliver the best possible performance, but it sounds effortless instead of worked over. The best songs always do. She’ll undoubtedly expand on the success of this single with its follow-ups. However, Stephanie Bettman puts her best foot forward with “Be Big” and emerges from the song larger than life. It’s well worth checking out as soon as possible because it yields endless dividends for anyone who loves quality music.
Garth Thomas