Sometimes, the difference between completing a pandemic album or shelving it comes down to an extra dose of fortitude. In other cases, it’s a matter of faith and funding. And if you’re Tory Silver, it means putting together all three elements on your own time.
After tussling with eight new tracks for two years, the Boston singer and guitarist dropped her sophomore record Slowly last Friday (January 28), sharing her newfound surrender to the “small, quiet moments” of life. Slowly came together with the help of a music grant from Club Passim, which Silver cites as final push she needed to wrap up the record as the world crumbled around her.
“I was awarded the Iguana Music Fund from Club Passim — a music grant — the January before everything went downhill,” she tells Vanyaland. “If it wasn’t for that pushing me to keep writing the album, I’m not sure I would have had the spunk to do it.”
But Silver shows off her spunk in spades on the record, as she welcomes stripped new elements into her musicianship, reflecting the new pace of life post-2020. Lead single “A Little Slower” leads the trend as a breakup tune that flits and flutters over peppy pop-rock before it “slows down and breathes at the end,” Silver describes.
“In my typical songwriting, I try to do some complex, off the wall things, but with this album the only thing coming through was more simplistic ideas,” she explains. “I fought it off for a while, but eventually caved into the simplicity. Doing that really allowed for other ideas to come through – the synth is really cool and weird, there’s a cello, and some of the harmonies are so powerful. In the past, I thought I had to carry the weight of doing something wacky on the guitar and making the song interesting, but I realized through this album that there can be a lot of depth, creativity, and still room for some weirdness in the simplicity.”
The album’s cover (designed by visual artist Toma Vagner) manifests the mood before Silver’s melodies even begin, inviting fans to slip into early-AM shades of apricot, coral, and salmon coating a country kitchen. After nearly two years with limited in-person interactions with the “outside,” it’s a view that might feel monotonous to fans worn down by endless quarantines. Yet the artwork captures a new kind of appreciation for the uncomplicated scenery — in the same way that Slowly does with its depictions of the past two years.
“The album itself is definitely a rock album, so I like the juxtaposition of the cozy art with a louder sound,” Silver reflects. “I think in some ways we are all like that: A little loud and crazy feeling, but also striving for those quiet moments… I think that’s what a lot of people need to remember, that there is power in small consistencies and sometimes doing enough is doing one thing.”
Make that “one thing” hitting play on Slowly below, and catch Silver performing with Alana Amore at The Record Co. this Saturday (February 5).