Good Person

Following a Grammy-nominated debut album may sound like a daunting task, but Ingrid Andress makes it seem like a breeze on her sophomore outing. The LP finds Andress taking what stood out about her 2020 debut *Lady Like*—infectious melodies, conversational and often vulnerable lyrics, a playful take on the country sound—and expanding upon it with a more adventurous approach to production (Andress co-produced the LP) and confident, story-based songwriting. Unable to tour in support of *Lady Like* due to the pandemic, Andress wrote much of *Good Person* during quarantine, using the time for reflection on herself as a person and an artist. Songs like the poppy “How Honest Do You Want Me to Be?” and the old-school “Pain” bristle with raw self-assuredness, fruits of that period of forced introspection. “Blue” is a tender, souful dispatch from the colorful vistas of newfound love, with one of Andress’ finest vocal performances accented by gentle pedal steel. And the title track, one of several which seamlessly incorporate a vocoder, gets at a core human struggle: how to be good.