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: I’m going to be talking a lot about my friends, because I love them, but they are also the most talented people I know. Morgan is my best friend in Philadelphia. He has been my graphic designer for my first three records and even wrote an amazing essay that appears with Pope Killdragon. But now he is in the process of world domination through rotoscoping. His short film Exordium changed my life when I saw it. It took him almost a year and half to meticulously craft the best seven minutes I’ve ever watched. I was lucky to score some music for it, along with my friend Jonny Ollsin and Ice Dragon. Now Morgan has gotten some mega Hollywood bucks and is turning Exordium into a feature length. Can’t give away anymore details, but it promises to be incredible. Watch this now.
