Brandi Carlile’s seventh studio album, In These Silent Days, is due this October. The record is dropping three years after her previous album, the much-loved and multiple Grammy-winning By the Way, I Forgive You.

Interestingly, the sales for that album weren’t much higher than her previous efforts, and it climbed only a few notches higher on the Billboard chart, and yet it feels like it marked a sea change in her career.

That was certainly how Carlile herself experienced it, based on her excellent memoir, Broken Horses, which I read earlier this year.

So while the commercial stakes aren’t necessarily high, there is a burden of expectation on the new album based on the reception of the last one.

If first single ‘Right On Time’ is any indication, Carlile should be just fine. Written and recorded during quarantine, the track beautifully showcases her amazing vocals and willingness to plumb emotional depths.

It’s a song about anger and forgiveness and how hard it is to keep it together sometimes. A perfect anthem for 2021.

[Note: This video was directed by Carlile’s pal, actress Courtney Cox, who is also a fine piano player.]