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: The apex of the visual form called television. Tony sitting on the bed staring to a distant light. All of his masculinity dismantled. I’m crying right now. Then the hushed fade in of Moby’s “When It’s Cold I Like To Die” washes over the scene and completely devastates my shit. I have faith in humanity if we are still able to create such beauty. I recently watched this Sopranos episode for the first time since James Gandolfini passed away, and it was just too much to handle.
Video after the jump.
