Brandi Carlile had her breakthrough with 2018's
By the Way I Forgive You, an album released 13 years after her debut. Having a rich body of work at the point she became a household name meant she had the confidence to depart from the stately sweep of
By the Way I Forgive You when it came time to deliver its successor,
In These Silent Days. Working with the same crew as she did on
By the Way I Forgive You -- her longtime collaborators
Phil and
Tim Hanseroth are here, along with co-producers
Dave Cobb and
Shooter Jennings --
Carlile crafts an album that's bolder and brawnier than its predecessor.
In These Silent Days has plenty of intimate moments -- it starts quietly, unfolding with just
Carlile's voice and piano, the same elements that close the album -- but they're punctuated by brisk melodies, steady-rolling rhythms and dramatic crescendos that capture the full roar of
Carlile and the Hanseroths. That power is evident during the spells where they restrain themselves, adding texture and color to
Carlile's hushed passion. What separates
In These Silent Days from the rest of
Carlile's albums is its controlled urgency and tight sense of craft, an aesthetic evident in how the album is as lean and robust as a well-loved record from the '70s. Often,
In These Silent Days conjures a specific spirit, as if
Elton John cut a collection of Laurel Canyon folk-rock in 1973 without abandoning his yearning to rock.
Carlile may tip her hat to
Elton and
Joni Mitchell here ("You and Me on the Rock" feels like an explicit nod to "Big Yellow Taxi") but as the album alternates between candid whispers and raw catharsis, it is unmistakably the work of
Brandi Carlile, who once again proves she's one of the best singer/songwriters of her generation. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
![Revolver [Special Edition LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602445599691_p0_v4_s90x140.jpg "Revolver [Special Edition LP]")
![Back to the Future [Original Soundtrack]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602507421342_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Back to the Future [Original Soundtrack]")
