When it comes to discovering new music, it normally happens by accident. I’ll stream a playlist tailored to my tastes and hit on something new that I want to hear more of. Other times, I could be watching a movie trailer and hear a piece of music that leads me down another rabbit hole. Or, like in this instance, I’ll have re-downloaded the Facebook app onto my phone, mindlessly scrolling through it until I see a link to an album review, and for whatever reason, I click on it – such is how I spend my time in these silent days.
It’s a neat term for describing what was otherwise known as the lockdown days. Some used that time more productively than others – learning a new language, baking bread or in the case of Brandi Carlile, writing her first memoir and producing a new solo-album. As a hip mother, lesbian, musician, writer, producer and rocker, I couldn’t help but be immediately drawn to her. Yearning for some new music, I gave the album a listen and what I heard was pretty damn good.
In These Silent Days is a new record released by Americana artist, Brandi Carlile – a voice completely new to me just a few weeks ago, and yet one I’m unlikely to forget anytime soon. The record straddles many sounds charting a landscape both rich and diverse – with roots, country, rock and soul influences fusing seamlessly together to make for a very warm, engaging listening experience. Carlile herself has an earthy vocal that melts like butter – someone who understands her craft and after many different projects, as a producer, songwriter and one-time band member of The Highwomen, is ready to take to centre-stage again, as a soloist in her element.
The opening bars of the record lull the listener on the intimate piano ballad, Right on Time. It’s the first of a few tracks on here where Brandi’s vocal is more isolated, paired with a sparse instrumental – making for a combination that will almost move you to tears at times. As a confessional track, the song muses on the uncomfortable realisation that the perfect relationship can never exist, and that if it’s meant to be, it will endure whatever rocky trail lies ahead.
Right on Time switches on the ignition of this record, and Carlile isn’t afraid to shift up through the gears thereafter. You and Me on The Rock follows on – a guitar driven upbeat number with shades of Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi. Reading lyrically as a love letter, it further cements this record as being a very personal and confessional offering by Brandi Carlile, who sounds like she’s having great fun singing this song, while also reminding us to stay true to ourselves.
The album kicks into high gear on Broken Horses – a full on rock n’ roll anthem dedicated seemingly to all the misfits of the world. It’s almost like your witnessing the awakening of her spirit animal, who howls on this number like a werewolf to the moon. That reference may be lost on some, but it features just a few minutes later on the track Mama Werewolf a song written for the singer’s children, that loosely documents the trials and tribulations of being a new mother. Like Broken Horses before it, the rousing effect of the harmonies really elevates the song, making you want to join in and singalong.
Your mama is a werewolf
With long sharp teeth
I’m up all night
When the world should sleep
I curse the darkness
When it’s killing time
I got a river of fear
Running through my mind
Mama Werewolf
The personal tone carries through on tracks such as Letter to the Past. The power of Brandi Carlile’s writing is in its poetic nature – telling a younger version of herself that she’s a stonewall, in a world full of rubber bands. She also relays onto us in the lullaby, Stay Gentle, that The kingdom of Heaven belongs to a boy, and his worries belong to a man. In telling the story of her own life, Carlile is definitely playing to her strengths – although a notable exception to this comes in the form of Sinners, Saints and Fools – a pointed commentary on the issue of immigration today. The rock elements are in full force here, and the howl of a werewolf returns for the song with probably the best instrumental on the album.
As a new listener to Brandi Carlile’s material, I’m not in a position to comment much on her artistic development and musical arch to date. Nonetheless, from what I’ve read, this is her most accessible and well-rounded project to date, a sentiment I absolutely agree with. For me, In These Silent Days stands as a high quality record on all fronts, with the vocals, lyrics, melodies and production all being top-notch. Her way of storytelling is vulnerable, earnest and empowering – demonstrating that art is so much richer when you have the courage to speak honestly.
9/10
Top site ,.. amazaing post ! Just keep the work on !