These Silent Days in Bloomington, MN

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
when it came time to deliver its successor,
In These Silent Days
. Working with the same crew as she did on
-- her longtime collaborators
Phil
and
Tim Hanseroth
are here, along with co-producers
Dave Cobb
Shooter Jennings
--
Carlile
crafts an album that's bolder and brawnier than its predecessor.
has plenty of intimate moments -- it starts quietly, unfolding with just
'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
and the Hanseroths. That power is evident during the spells where they restrain themselves, adding texture and color to
's hushed passion. What separates
from the rest of
'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,
conjures a specific spirit, as if
Elton John
cut a collection of Laurel Canyon folk-rock in 1973 without abandoning his yearning to rock.
may tip her hat to
Elton
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
, who once again proves she's one of the best singer/songwriters of her generation. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine