Indie band Tow'rs, once a five-piece outfit, is now a duo headlined by husband and wife Kyle and Gretta Miller. Highlighted by gorgeous harmonies and acoustic sonics, their latest album, Joy Alchemy, is a set of songs revolving around the topic of choice. The powerful opportunity we each have is to choose joy despite circumstance, or to keep moving forward no matter the pain of the past. Recorded live, the album has the feeling of being in the same room as the warmth of their intimate vocals, gentle guitar picking, and light precision weave a blanket of sonic comfort.

The opener, "Love is a Constant Changing," sets the theme of the album up nicely with the scary reality that "choice" is baked into every relationship. The track "Uncertainty" was probably my second favorite of the album. Its lulling groove ambles forward, carrying with it a reassurance in the lyrics that uncertainty is a sure sign of adventure. That said, the duo mutually promises to ("hold on to you") for the ride.

Next is, and oh-my-good-gracious, a standout and my favorite song, "Forgone." You should stop reading immediately and go listen to it with the lyrics pulled up. Lines like the following lean into a hopeful ache, "The figures don't quite add up, the sum don't balance out/Your heart has found a truth, but your mind keeps finding doubt/But then the sun it cracks like a yoke upon the roof/And from the darkness, you can see good medicine's in you." Songwriter Kyle Miller described it as a "poem for a friend." He further says, "I watched my friend confront this moment in their life with courage, but also the sober fact that sometimes moving on is easier said than done."

Other highlights are the sweet sentiment of "time with you is a baker's dozen" found in "Baker's Dozen"; "Orion," which harkens back topically to the opener; and the song "Southern Facing Room." The latter has the following lines that match the album's theme of choice, "I'd seen enough, but it's hard to let go of something you love/Why I'll never shake it, but I found joy in the alchemy of making."

Ultimately, Joy Alchemy was a surprise hit that nailed that certain sweet spot of subtle nuance, intimacy, charm, and poetry that worked for me in 2023. When I discovered it by chance after the mid-point of the year, it was in near-constant rotation. All told, it ended up my third most listened-to album of 2023. This is well worth your time if you enjoy lyrical gold combined with singer-songwriter musicality and beautiful harmonies.

- Review date: 1/22/24, written by Josh Balogh of Jesusfreakhideout.com

Record Label: Tone Tree Music
Album length: 10 tracks: 40 minutes, 29 seconds
Street Date: March 23, 2023
Buy It: Amazon Music

1. Love Is a Constant Changing (3:36)
2. Lucky Heartache (3:37)
3. Uncertainty (5:47)
4. Forgone (3:42)
5. I Must Believe in the Morning (4:36)
6. Baker's Dozen (3:48)
7. Orion (3:56)
8. When the Daisies Bloom Again (3:46)
9. Southern Facing Room (3:45)
10. Clouds (3:55)