Artists attempting the kind of drastic stylistic detour that Caroline Smith manages here generally end up either going horribly off-course or reaping the rewards of a bold risk. Fortunately, Half About Being a Woman is in the latter camp. This Minnesotan singer/songwriter's earlier output was in an alt/indie folk-rock mode, but this time around, Smith wholeheartedly embraces her love of '90s R&B. Frankly, there's little in her previous work to predict the success of such a shift, but somehow Smith pulls it off seamlessly. Mind you, she's not striving to re-create R. Kelly arrangements here—the album has an organic, live-sounding production approach, more akin to neo-soul. Smith's confident croon slides smoothly into these songs about a young woman finding and embracing her place in the world and her stakes in the game of love. Both musically and thematically, Half About Being a Woman is the sound of Caroline Smith coming fully into her own.