The 33-year-old is a respected oddball on the folk and punk fringe and a celebrated curiosity in the world beyond. Howle’s received accolades in The New York Times, opened for Bob Dylan and been called a “melodic, nimble being” by Ani DiFranco. But the eccentric singer still prefers to fly under the radar. She’s signed to the Southern indie label Daemon Records and sells most of her albums via Daniellehowle.com. On her new CD she balances mainstream accessibility and small-venue sentimentality. Howle sounds as soothing as Karen Carpenter, as graceful as k. d. lang and as Saturday-night worn as Patsy Cline. The songs, played by her band the Tantrums, vary from sad-sack country to off-kilter pop to beer-chugging rock. She even dabbles in a little jazz. “Once this guy got all mad at me and said, ‘Why can’t you just make a record where all the songs go together?’ " says Howle. “I said, ‘They do, Mister, but not everything’s a Pink Floyd album’.”
