IN SEARCH OF JOY

At the beginning of the pandemic, Kyle Miller, one half of the husbandand-wife duo Tow’rs, went out for a run on Observatory Mesa.

“I was trying out this new sort of thing,” he explained. “I had been reading about this thing called the runner’s high and the correlation between doing creative work and running and like, how to sync those up.”

Somewhere towards the end of that long run, between the metronomic beats of his heart and feet, a title popped into his head: “Joy Alchemy.” Years later, through careful cultivation and collaboration with Gretta, Kyle’s wife and fellow lead vocalist, and their loyal troupe of supporting performers, that title would evolve to be the foundation of Tow’rs’ sixth studio album; a mature and uplifting reflection on the choices that we do and do not have control over It’s an impressive entry into the band’s oeuvre, but its success lies not only in the familiarity of their sound but also in the way that they have executed the themes of “Joy Alchemy” in a tangible way.

In the initial brainstorming process, the Millers wrote a lot of their ideas and lyrics for the album on an old typewriter to establish a sort of permanence to their work and ground the, oftentimes, discombobulated poetry to their real life experiences.

“[It] was fun to kind of step into like these random scraps of paper all over the place that were typewritten,” Gretta said. “Like, how do we mold these ideas into something; something that still has an openness to what it means but is graspable.”

This commitment to every letter helped focus the album on themselves and the changes that they’ve had to make to find joy, but aside from the thematic introspection, the choice to narrow their focus allowed them to finish every song before they went to the studio to record their album live.

The decision to record live gives “Joy Alchemy” a wholesome quality that’s difficult to grasp, but as a seasoned music producer in his own right, Kyle suggests that it’s impossible to make something sound like it was done live without re- cording live.

“It’s a feeling,” he said, “there’s microphone bleed, and there’s a type of energy of like, making eye contact with the people you’re recording with and it truly capturing a moment rather than layering all the pieces, which is what our past albums have been.”

There’s an honesty to a live record that’s hard to replicate, and the limits of this choice have forced the duo to ask themselves if they are okay with who they are; if they are capable of allowing their songs to speak in a way that they can feel proud of And if so, they can celebrate the freedom that comes from accepting the beauty of their work’s imperfections.

“Joy Alchemy” is a fully realized album. From its conception on Observatory Mesa to its live recording in Lafayette, CO, this 10-track record captures a palpable realness that is uncommon in a music industry that so often sacrifices originality for uniformity and poetry for consumability. Each song stands out, offering their own unique colors for the listener to paint with while also staying consistent conceptually.

The opening track, “Love is a Constant Changing,” is an energetic and touching entrée into the general themes of the album while songs like the dreamy yet melancholy “Forgone,” the simple yet delightful “Bakers Dozen” and the complex yet celebratory “Southern Facing Room” dig into the minutiae of a little life; the small battles that are earned with love and by loving. It’s a lyrical journey that ends with “Clouds,” an uplifting call for us to find the joy in uncertainty and allow room for change.

From beginning to end, “Joy Alchemy” lives up to its name, offering up a magical concoction of tracks that recognizes hardship for what it is and joy as something that can be earned.

The album is available now on Spotify or wherever you get your music. If you would like to see Tow’rs perform “Joy Alchemy” live, they are going on a West Coast tour in May and are performing in Flagstaff on May 5 at the Coconino Center for the Arts. Check out their website at towrsmusic.com for more information.