Before her first major success, which came with her second album The Story, U.S.-born singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile had already had a career as a solo and backing musician in Seattle's rock scene at the age of seventeen. In 2017, to celebrate The Story's 10th anniversary, she released the covers album Cover Stories, which featured reinterpretations of songs by artists such as Adele, Dolly Parton, and Pearl Jam. After The Story, Brandi Carlile joined forces with twins Tim and Phil Hanseroth to form a rock & roll band, and since then they have been her regular backing musicians and involved in the creation of her songs. This is also the case in her new album, In These Silent Days, produced four years after her last album.
These Silent Days cannot be classified in any particular genre. Rather, it defines in Brandi Carlile's career the slow transition away from country and roots material already evident in previous albums, though it feels very authentic and grounded. Ultimately, it's one of those albums where the strength of the material makes discussions of genre or style simply unnecessary. Add to that the fact that it only takes a few seconds for the brilliance of the lyrics and the power of the delivery that continues to distinguish Brandi Carlile on her new album to become apparent.
Brandi Carlile is particularly known for her songwriting. In the new album, she critically examines religious hypocrisy , the legacy she passes on to her own children, and how far love for another can go in the face of self-destructive impulses. In "Mama Werewolf," she implores her children to be the silver bullet if she ever becomes a werewolf because she has inherited appropriately negative traits from her parents. In "Sinners Saints and Fools" she bluntly settles scores with religious hypocrisy.
The instrumentals in "This Time Tomorrow," "Letter to the Past" and "When You're Wrong" centralize these songs impressively thanks to powerful efforts by all involved.
In These Silent Days, Brandy Carlile proves to be an exceedingly clever vocal dramatist: "Broken Horses" develops in a rocking manner and "Sinners Saints and Fools" is a song that proves to be gospel, with an indulgent development. Neither song is necessarily one of the album's highlights, but they are rousingly crafted thanks to stormily enacted backing vocals and hard strumming, as well as furious solos.
The band is in fine form on In These Silent Days and proves to be a crucial factor in the album's quality. Standout examples of the band's playfulness and competence can be found on "You and Me on the Rock," an exuberant , snappily staged love song, and on "Right on the Time," a dramatic, piano-driven lead single.
In These Silent Days makes a strong, inspired, challenging and convincing case that Brandi Carlile is still convincingly fulfilling her role as a leading artist of modern Americana.
Brandi Carlile