Strand Of Oaks will be stopping through Pittsburgh on Tuesday, May 7th to play at Club Cafe in support of their latest album Eraserland which is out on NOW. Listen to Eraserland HERE
Watch + Listen: “Weird Ways” + “Ruby” + “Keys” + “Strand Of Oaks Ft. Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires Performing ‘Ruby’ on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert“
Strand of Oaks (Timothy Showalter) has returned with his 6th album, Eraserland via label Dead Oceans. On Eraserland, Showalter is backed by My Morning Jacket members Carl Broemel,Bo Koster, Patrick Hallahan and Tom Blankenship, who played a crucial role in the making of the album. The album also features Jason Isbell.
Listen to EraserlandHERE.
Praise for Eraserland:
““I turn my back to the meaning of life and the scene isn’t my scene anymore,” Showalter confesses. What starts out as a somber and meditative stroll, not too dissimilar from a My Morning Jacket joint, becomes a redemptive anthem in true Strand of Oaks glory.” – Consequence Of Sound
“Showalter has a gift for melodies that soar like wounded birds triumphantly returning to the sky; his hooks worked wonders when Strand Of Oaks was still a humble folk-rock project, and they sound even more spectacular in the context of ragged-glory arena rock.” – Stereogum
“[‘Eraserland’] traces the songwriter’s sober reflections and search for tranquility amidst glam-Bowie guitar freakouts (“Hyperspace Blues”), transcendent Crazy Horse jams (“Forever Chords”), and oddball tributes to Malcolm Young (“Moon Landing”).” – Rolling Stone
“Start to finish, [‘Eraserland’ is] one of Strand of Oaks’ most consistently rewarding albums.”
– Brooklyn Vegan
“On [“Forever Chords”], Showalter also says that “My fingers keep bending/Still searching for the note.” Thankfully, ‘Eraserland’, a sometimes harrowing but ultimately hard-earned triumph, seems to have reinvigorated Showalter to keep Strand Of Oaks afloat as the search continues.” – American Songwriter
“Over a sweeping and soaring melody, singer and multi-instrumentalist Timothy Showalter narrates a love that shines as bright and life-giving as the sun.” – Uproxx
“In a robotic world, genuine rock ‘n’ roll is still worthy of acclaim. These days, the household names are Kurt Vile, The War on Drugs, and Courtney Barnett, but we might want to add Strand of Oaks to that list.” – Under The Radar
“’Eraserland’, like previous releases, draws liberally and versatilely from the popular canon; with his latest iteration, however, Showalter more consummately subsumes these precedents within his own still-evolving brand. While earlier sets included vital and memorable work, Showalter is now standing on — and floating above — elevated ground.” – No Depression
“[‘Eraserland’ is] one of the best albums of 2019, a rare recording whose lyrics and music are perfectly fit and equally brilliant.” – Soundblab
On Eraserland, Showalter is backed by My Morning Jacket members Carl Broemel, Bo Koster, Patrick Hallahan and Tom Blankenship, who played a crucial role in the making of the album. The album also features Jason Isbell. It was produced by Kevin Ratterman and recorded at La La Land Studios in Louisville, KY. Eraserland is available HERE and the die cut, double LP is available on limited cloudy white vinyl HERE.
Writer-producer Timothy Showalter has always used the highs and lows of his own life as the source material for his gut punching rock songs. Each of his experiences examined, mediated on and crafted into confessional albums for the world to share. The therapeutic experience of making art this way was often short lived, leading Showalter to bouts of depression and after 2017’s Hard Love, he found himself spent. Empty and determined that he would never write songs again, dark thoughts crept in and Showalter, concerned for his own well-being decided to go on a spiritual pilgrimage – to the Jersey Shore.
During this time, the members of My Morning Jacket, good friends of Showalter’s had gotten word of the terrible state he was in and decided to take things into their own hands. Carl Broemel messaged Showalter and informed him that Bo Koster would be soon be on a two week break from his tour with Roger Waters and they would all be free to meet in Louisville to make the next Strand of Oaks record. Divine intervention or forceful ultimatum, it was the opportunity Showalter needed. He spent the following weeks on the beach doing a mental tearing down-to-the-studs. What emerged was Eraserland, a thrilling and monumental turn for Strand of Oaks.
Track Listing:
Eraserland
- Weird Ways
- Hyperspace Blues
- Keys
- Visions
- Final Fires
- Moon Landing
- Ruby
- Wild and Willing
- Eraserland
- Forever Chords
Tour Dates:
4/10 – FM Kirby Center – Wilkes-Barre, PA
4/11 – U Street Music Hall – Washington, D.C.
4/12 – Motorco Music Hall – Durham, NC
4/13 – The Earl – Atlanta, GA
4/14 – Saturn – Birmingham, AL
4/16 – Antone’s – Austin, TX
4/17 – Three Links – Dallas, TX
4/19 – Santa Fe Brewing Co – Santa Fe, NM
4/20 – Valley Bar – Phoenix, AZ
4/22 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA
4/23 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA
4/25 – Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR
4/26 – Neumos – Seattle, WA
4/27 – Biltmore Cabaret – Vancouver, BC
4/28 – The Bartlett – Spokane, WA
5/1 – Turf Club – Minneapolis, MN
5/2 – High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI
5/3 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
5/4 – The Hi-Fi – Indianapolis, IN
5/6 – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH
5/7 – Club Cafe – Pittsburgh, PA
5/8 – Sinclair – Boston, MA
5/9 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY
5/10 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA
5/20 – Metropool – Hengelo, NL
5/21 – Blue Shell – Cologne, DE
5/23 – Loppen – Copenhagen, DK
5/24 – Privatclub – Berlin, DE
5/25 – TivoliVredenburg – Utrecht, NL
5/26 – TRIX – Antwerp, BELGIUM
5/27 – Omeara – London, UK
5/29 – Brudenell Social Club – Leeds, UK
5/31 – Whelan’s – Dublin, IE
6/29 – Rock Werchter – Werchter, BE
6/30 – Halfway Festival – Bialystok, PL
9/1 – Into the Great Wide Open – Vlieland, NL
9/11 – Zanzabar – Louisville, KY
9/14 – Globe Hall – Denver, CO
9/20 – Back Room at Collectivo – Milwaukee, WI
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More About Eraserland:
“When I was writing these songs, every day I would walk on the beach and I was completely alone and overwhelmed by fear…but then I realized how there really aren’t any rules for who you are, who you’ll become, or who you think you need to be. Eraserland is just that. It’s death to ego, and rebirth to anything or anyone you want to be.”
In December 2017, Tim Showalter was uncertain about his next record and the shape it would eventually take. With no new songs written and lacking any clear vision, he was unprepared for the message he would receive from his friend Carl Broemel, the conversation that would follow, and the album that would become Eraserland. Leading off with standout track “Weird Ways” and his powerful declaration of “I don’t feel it anymore,” Eraserland traces Showalter’s evolution from apprehension to creative awakening, carving out a new and compelling future for Strand of Oaks.
“This project seemed to just fall together naturally,” said Broemel, guitarist for My Morning Jacket. “I felt drawn to Tim’s positive energy and his albums…I threw it out there that I’d be happy to help in any way I could with the record.” Broemel quickly reignited Showalter’s interest in what would become Strand of Oaks’ sixth full-length studio release, and within 24 hours, My Morning Jacket members Patrick Hallahan (drums), Bo Koster (keys), and Tom Blankenship (bass) were also on board.
Revived by the support of Broemel and his bandmates, Showalter felt the pressure to deliver songs worthy of musicians he had admired long before and after a 2015 Oaks/MMJ tour. So in February 2018, he spent two weeks alone in Wildwood, New Jersey writing and demoing all of the songs that would eventually comprise Eraserland. And in April, he went into the studio to record with Kevin Ratterman at La La Land Studios in Louisville, Kentucky, and with Broemel, Hallahan, Koster, and Blankenship as his band. Jason Isbell also contributed his Hendrix-esque guitar work to Eraserland, while singer/songwriter Emma Ruth Rundle provided gorgeous vocals. Every song was recorded live, with all musicians playing together in one room and working to bring Showalter’s ideas to fruition. “I remember sitting next to Tim and Kevin listening to the final mixes with tears rolling down my cheeks,” said Hallahan. “From start to finish, this one came from the heart.”
Each song on Eraserland sustains an openness and sensitivity that is enthralling, bolstered by the exceptional musicians there to realize it and rekindle Showalter’s passion for music-making. The album finds Showalter successfully channeling the full spectrum of sounds within the Strand of Oaks discography, from fast, synthy tracks like “Hyperspace Blues” to epic burner “Visions, the gorgeous ballad “Keys,” and his devastating acoustic performance on “Wild and Willing.” But Eraserland also has moments of pure, upbeat exuberance, most notably on “Ruby,” a rollicking, understated anthem driven by buoyant piano and one of Showalter’s most infectious melodies to date. Isbell’s magnificent shredding is showcased on “Moon Landing,” Eraserland’s preeminent off-the-wall groove, while the album’s title track finds Showalter resurrecting his long-dormant alter ego Pope Killdragon for a striking, synth-laden duet with Rundle.
But in many ways, “Forever Chords” is the definitive track on Showalter’s magnum opus, and the manifestation of everything he hoped to achieve on this record and for Strand of Oaks as a whole. “When I finished writing ‘Forever Chords,’ I felt like this is either the last song I ever need to write, or the rebirth of Strand of Oaks.” Poignant and heart-rending, “Forever Chords” gradually builds toward an emotional release rooted in our own universal fears about mortality, personal legacy, and music as a saving force.
But it’s that first Eraserland line, “I don’t feel it anymore,” that sets a stunning precedent for the most affecting and fully-formed album Strand of Oaks has ever released. Because despite whatever doubts or reservations Showalter had going into the process, he crafted a series of songs so perfectly matched to the musicians supporting it, and so emboldened by his own doubts and insecurities, that the result is glittering, powerful, and impassioned, a moving rock and roll saga that feels substantial and deeply satisfying, vulnerable and self-assured.
Pittsburgh Music Magazine 