Tim Showalter’s hellishly abrupt near-demise late last year via a car accident was hardly the sole inspiration for Strand Of Oaks’ disarming new release. There was plenty of real-life drama before the accident to form the angst-ridden basis for what is easily Showalter’s most cathartic musical statement to date. Really, it was the culmination of a series of mini-mental breakdowns that began quite out of the blue, when Showalter was touring overseas for 2012’s Dark Shores, an album he wasn’t particularly proud of. On the road nonstop for two years, he was witnessing his marriage unravel from afar, and pretty much hating what he saw in the mirror. Emotionally spent and creatively unbound, he churned out 30 songs in three weeks. Ten of those made HEAL, an LP as off-putting as it is invigorating, and one that abandons the folky trappings of previous Strand Of Oaks releases—perhaps for good. Showalter will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on him.
Showalter: Joe Pug is one of my top humans ever. He took me on my first real tour, and we had some fucking crazy adventures. We spent more than three months in a van with one another, and I’d do anything to get that time back. Even if that can’t happen, we still have these epic late-night phone calls. I’m on my porch in Philly, he’s on his porch in Austin, and we probably consume a case of beer each during the talk. Listen to him sing “Hymn 101,” and you’ll know how lucky I am to have him as a friend.
Video after the jump.
