In These Silent Days

Carlile wrote the album's songs while quarantining during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. She penned "Throwing Good After Bad" before any of the other tracks. She wrote "You and Me on the Rock" for her wife. The album was produced by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings and was recorded at RCA Studio A in fall 2020.[2]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	87/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
American Songwriter	[5]
Entertainment Weekly	A-[6]
Paste	8.1/10[7]
Uncut	7/10[8]
Variety	92/100[9]

Upon release, In These Silent Days received critical acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 87 out of 100 out of ten reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[3]

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "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."[4] Writing for American Songwriter, Lee Zimmerman called the album "a crowning affair, one that’s destined to be considered a high point in Carlile’s ever-expansive career." and stated that "It’s little wonder then that In These Silent Days consistently speaks volumes."[5] Concluding the review for Entertainment Weekly, Marc Hirsh claimed that "Seven albums in, Carlile has long since proven herself constitutionally incapable of making a bad record. She's not about to start now."[6]

Concluding the review for Paste, Ben Salmon declared that "With her talent and charisma, and this group around her, it’s no wonder Carlile is the star she was always meant to be, and there’s certainly nothing about In These Silent Days that will stop her rise."[7] The review for Uncut also highlighted the stength of Carlile's songwriting; "The songs are introspective, reflective and fretful. ... It's best moments are its quieter ones."[3][8] Writing for Variety, Chris Willman stated "Carlile effortlessly glides between octaves while, somehow, still sounding completely conversational — the everyday diva we didn’t know we needed until she showed up at the door. Fans of the singer-songwriter sensibilities of the 1970s will especially find a lot to love in the rich variety of material in “In These Silent Days,” which, under the expert co-production of Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings, certainly sounds analog-era, however it was recorded."[9]

All tracks are written by Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth except "Right on Time", written by Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth.