The Silence in Between

On their first two albums, Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance established themselves as skilled producers and singer-songwriters who could hold their own in the dance tent; they were often booked alongside leading house and techno DJs who dealt in heavier BPMs. On album three, the pair, who are better known as Bob Moses, turn up the dial.

But The Silence in Between isn’t necessarily a bigger club record—if anything, these songs are more introspective, spacious, and searching. Rather, it feels bigger musically, with dense, layered instrumentals; clear-eyed vocals; and gritty, textured arrangements that always seem to settle in the melancholy of minor keys. “Broken Belief,” which was written during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, and the somber “Ordinary Friend” draw more on uneasy alt-rock than the shimmering elements of disco. Even “Time and Time Again,” one of the project’s most danceable numbers, is a tribute to those early-morning hours after the peak of the party has passed, when the night’s heaviness lifts and the music takes on a spiritual quality. “It was inspired by the passing of a dear friend that happened way too soon,” Howie tells Apple Music, adding that he felt the friend’s presence in the room while the song was created. “It was cathartic realizing the connection to this person will always be there.”