Almost exactly a year ago, Brandi Carlile took a bow with Joni Mitchell at the final “Joni Jam” concert at the Hollywood Bowl and the next morning hopped a flight to New York.
Full of feelings after closing a chapter in which she became Mitchell’s muse and champion, Carlile retreated upstate to meet with The National’s Aaron Dessner, himself a guardian of the introspective as a producer and songwriter.
Alone in a barn on Dessner’s property, Carlile wrote a poem that became “Returning to Myself.” Her words became lyrics and eventually, the title track to her eighth studio album out Oct. 24.
Four years since her stunning Grammy-winning “In These Silent Days,” Carlile, 44, has released 10 potent songs focusing on the reflection that comes with aging (“A War With Time”); love for her family including wife Catherine Shepherd and young daughters Evangeline Ruth and Elijah – (“A Long Goodbye”); and the visceral rocker that reminds of the power of the First Amendment (“Church & State”).
Teaming with Dessner as well as Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, pop-rock maestro Andrew Watt – a kindred spirit since working with him earlier this year on “Who Believes in Angels?,” her project with Elton John – and lifetime collaborators Tim and Phil Hanseroth, Carlile extracted various vibes for her new songs.
