Maps of Music

In These Silent Days (2021)

Where the lyrics of In These Silent Days take you, and where it was really made.

Written during quarantine in the early pandemic, this album later won the Grammy for Best Americana Album.

Key places

Recorded at RCA Studio A (2021)

Recording site RCA Studio B — The album was recorded at RCA Studio A in fall 2020, produced by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile
• Released 1 October 2021 via Low Country Sound/Elektra Records
• Produced by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings
• Carlile wrote the album's songs during quarantine in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic
• She penned "Throwing Good After Bad" before any of the other tracks
• The lead single "Right on Time" received three Grammy nominations in 2022

Background

• Carlile wrote "You and Me on the Rock" for her wife
• The album was written in isolation during the early pandemic period and reflects the quiet mood of that time
• It was her first album in the period after the pandemic's start, which shaped the sound and writing approach

Recording

• Recorded at RCA Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee, in fall 2020
• Production was handled by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings, who also co-produced the sound
• Engineering and mixing credits are split among several engineers, including Tom Elmhirst on several tracks

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born June 1, 1981, in Ravensdale, Washington; grew up in King County, near Seattle.
• Began singing country songs on stage at age eight; started writing songs at age 15.
• Began her career performing in Seattle music clubs with twin brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth.
• Signed with Columbia Records in 2004; debut album Brandi Carlile released in 2005.

Members

• Core band includes the Hanseroth twins, Phil and Tim, who have performed with her since she was 17.
• Her wife Catherine Shepherd has served as executive director of the Looking Out Foundation.

Career

• Breakthrough with the T Bone Burnett-produced album The Story (2007); the title single was widely featured in commercials and TV.
• Albums include Give Up the Ghost (2009), Bear Creek (2012), The Firewatcher's Daughter (2015), By the Way, I Forgive You (2018), In These Silent Days (2021), and Returning to Myself (2025).
• Has won eleven Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards, and received an Academy Award nomination.
• Co-founded the supergroup the Highwomen in 2019 with Amanda Shires, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby.
• Collaborated with Elton John on the 2025 album Who Believes in Angels?.
• Runs the Looking Out Foundation, which has donated almost $9 million to grassroots causes.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: an average score of 87 out of 100 from eleven reviews, which the site reads as universal acclaim
• AllMusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine): praised the album's controlled urgency and tight sense of craft
• American Songwriter (Lee Zimmerman): called it a crowning affair that is destined to be considered a high point in Carlile's career
• Entertainment Weekly (Marc Hirsh): said that seven albums in, Carlile has proven herself incapable of making a bad record
• Paste (Ben Salmon): said the album and the band around Carlile show she is the star she was always meant to be
• Uncut: highlighted the songwriting, calling the songs introspective and reflective and noting that the quieter moments are the best
• Variety (Chris Willman): praised her effortless glide between octaves and her conversational sound, and found the material appealing to fans of 1970s singer-songwriters

Records

• Debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200
• Topped the Top Rock Albums chart and the Americana/Folk Albums chart
• Earned seven more Grammy nominations in 2023, including Album of the Year and Best Americana Album, winning the latter
• "Right on Time" earned three Grammy nominations in 2022, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year
• "You and Me on the Rock" earned three nominations in 2023, including Record of the Year
• "Broken Horses" won two awards, Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Carlile wrote "Throwing Good After Bad" before any of the other tracks on the album
• The album was recorded at RCA Studio A in fall 2020, during the pandemic period
• "You and Me on the Rock" was written for her wife
• The album's writing process took place while Carlile was quarantining

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

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