B-Side Guys

Absence can be more revealing than presence. This paradox forms the foundation of Dustin Silva’s “What Were We Hiding,” a folk ballad that finds its power in negative space—both musical and emotional. The Portland-based songwriter, whose technical virtuosity on guitar belies his patient, minimalist approach to composition, has crafted a meditation on hollowness that feels paradoxically full.

Silva’s years of perfectionism reveal themselves in the track’s meticulous arrangement, where every element—from the gentle finger-picked patterns to the precisely placed percussive accents from Elizabeth Goodfellow (of Iron & Wine and boygenius fame)—serves the song’s emotional architecture. When Silva observes “we’ve lived here for years, still there’s nothing on the walls,” the barren imagery becomes both setting and metaphor, describing physical emptiness that mirrors emotional vacancy.

The addition of Holly Sheehy’s ethereal vocals creates dialogue where there might otherwise be monologue, embodying the connection mentioned in the song’s thematic focus on addiction and remedy. Their voices intertwine most effectively during the repeated questioning of “what were we hiding in those altars,” suggesting that sacred spaces often conceal rather than reveal our truths.

Silva’s lyrical construction displays remarkable precision, particularly in the evocative imagery of “our limbs like a wrung out cloth” and “sawdust we once cleared became the architecture.” These fragments paint a portrait of depletion and transformation, where construction materials become the structure itself—waste becomes substance, much like how addiction often begins as coping mechanism before becoming identity.

The production choices complement this thematic exploration, with warm acoustic tones creating false comfort that’s periodically disrupted by textural shifts. The repetition of “there’s nothing there” toward the track’s conclusion becomes almost mantra-like, as if acceptance of emptiness might itself become a form of fullness.

Drawing from his personal struggles with chronic illness and witnessing his mother’s battle with Multiple Sclerosis, Silva’s perspective on suffering feels earned rather than observed. “What Were We Hiding” stands as evidence that sometimes the most profound musical statements come not from technical flourish but from knowing precisely what to leave unsaid—and unplayed.