Pigeon Opinion Featuring an Interview with Bruce Engler

“Silver Lining” is an engaging, thoughtful album by Engler that transforms disruption in life into its emotional focal point. This album does not provide a seamless tale of recovery but rather explores the messy nature of growth and development.

Interview with Valley Taylor

How did the interstate move change your creative direction for The Silver Lining rather than just delaying it?

By the time I was digging back into the songwriting, it was all such a new frontier after the long interruption. I was more open to exploring ideas the universe had decided to drop into my lap. It meant some very different directions for me on this album, song-wise.

What emotions from that transition ended up defining the tone of the opening tracks like “This Dream” and “New World”?

Those two songs, in particular, were the result of a crazy bunch of variables ahead of me, deadlines and unknowns about how this huge life event would ultimately end up. I wrote fictional stories, looking at the unknown future in a completely positive light. I was thinking, “Well, these crazy days will end eventually, let’s assume it’s a happy ending. Why not?”

How did losing access to your studio setup influence the way you rebuilt your recording process in New England?

The technical fell into place pretty easily. The physical space was the thing that required some thought. I consider myself very lucky I was able to get up and running again. I wasn’t sure there for a while.

What does the title The Silver Lining mean to you in the context of disruption and relocation?

You know, your question literally made me look at those title track lyrics in a completely different way. I thought I was writing about a group of people, maybe the whole world, going through another bumpy period and joining together to get through it more successfully. But hidden between the lines, influencing the lyrics, is my own big interstate move, like the line, “build something better, better than we left behind.” These big life events can’t help but creep into lyrics, even if it’s subconsciously.

How do artists like Eric Clapton, Crowded House, and Pete Townshend shape your guitar tone and songwriting approach?

Well, Clapton pretty much taught me how to play the guitar. The guitar work in Crowded House and all of Pete Townshend’s work is brilliantly crafted with the sole purpose of supporting/enhancing the song. Townshend is, of course, an amazing guitarist, but it’s not about the guitar as much as it’s about the song. Always.

What lessons did you carry over from your time in NYC’s live scene into this new phase of your career?

My NYC live performing days subconsciously guide me, I think, when I’m wondering how to approach a performance in the studio. It’s easy to get caught up in the studio technology. Sometimes, you just have to go back to basics and strip it down. Authenticity!

How did working with musicians connected to Paul McCartney’s Wings and the E Street Band influence your perspective on collaboration?

Some amazing players have appeared on my previous releases. The bar was set high, so I tried to meet that challenge on this album. Someone like Steve Holley, former Wings drummer, really immerses himself into the essence of the song. His goal is always to bring the song to its best potential and his experience is reassuring when that red light goes on.

What role does resilience play in your songwriting compared to earlier projects like Bang the Drum or DownTown Mystic?

To tear everything down for a big move and then build it back up doesn’t necessarily mean it will work. I had lost face to face contact with some of my main collaborators. Would the inspiration come visit me after everything was built back up? I just had to stay positive and committed.

If this album reflects a journey, what moment marks the turning point between uncertainty and clarity?

Somewhere around the halfway point, maybe the fifth song out of the final ten, I felt like this may actually work. Just to prove to myself I could see this through to a full album gave me clarity and confidence.

What do you hope listeners take away about change and persistence after hearing The Silver Lining?

I’m not the only person who has had to face uncertainty or fight their way back to something, but the songwriting process is kind of voodoo and a very specific kind of uncertainty. I think The Silver Lining has some very uplifting messages throughout that can apply to anyone living day to day, climbing their own mountains in their own perfectly unique little worlds.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out Bruce Engler on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist