Strand of Oaks, a.k.a. Timothy Showalter, recorded a few songs with Out of Town Films before the release of his latest LP HEAL. Below is the first tasting of the session with one of the album's standouts "JM," which was taped at Berks Warehouse. Also, backing Showalter, you'll find a cast of talented local fixtures in the Philly music community - Mike Sneeringer (ex-Purling Hiss, ex-The Loved Ones) on drums, Eliza Jones (Buried Beds) on keys, and Deven Craige (Little Big League) on bass. The group is currently in the middle of a massive tour, and will be back in town on Friday, September 19 and Saturday, September 20 at The Boot & Saddle for two sold-out shows.

Vampires taking out some cokehead bros at a dive bar is the subject of Strand of Oaks' new music video for "Same Emotions," off his latest LP HEAL. We have to say that we support this occurrence happening more often than not. Oaks will be getting wicked in Philly on Friday, September 19 and Saturday, September 20 when he performs at back-to-back sold-out shows at The Boot & Saddle with Chris Denny.

Strand of Oaks, a.k.a. Timothy Showalter, made a stop at what is left of the Berlin Wall when he was on tour in Germany. Below is a touching, acoustic performance of "Woke Up To The Light," which was recorded by HNDGMCHT. Showalter is currently on a massive tour for the rest of the summer that will be wrapping up on September 19 at The Boot & Saddle; however, he'll only be home for about a week before he heads out on the road gain in Europe.

When Strand of Oaks’ new album, HEAL, was conceptualized, it probably sounded like an unremarkable trainwreck. I could see Tim Showalter in a room saying, “It’ll be like really mellow folk-punk, and also, we’re gonna put some ambient synth and heavy metal guitar riffs in there too.” The only reason you wouldn’t roll your eyes is that Tim Showalter has the look of a Viking warrior. However, what should be a seven-car pileup is one of the most exhilarating, soulful, and unique experimentations within the songwriter genre to come along in a good while.

HEAL simply grabs influences from far too many genres to be put in a box. It transitions between aesthetic styles with a deliberate pacing, opening with “Goshen ’97,” as something akin to early The Heavy, gradually bringing in synths to become more and more comparable to Depeche Mode, and by the time the songs “For Me” and “Wait For Love” come around, sounding more like the lovechild between Cold War Kids and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Each song is so radically different that the only thing keeping them identifiable as the same project (or even the same artist) is a rock solid aesthetic and thematic coherence; it’s a record with something to say, and while finding an overwhelming variety of ways to do so, doesn’t go off message for even a second.

The track “JM” is what really exemplifies everything that works about this album; it’s where HEAL goes from simply shifting between different styles to sublimely merging them into a single sound. The song combines furious (yet carefully layered) guitar riffs, melancholy piano, and vocals with a hushed intensity over hooks that concisely capture the bittersweet nostalgia of backwater suburbia. It’s the album’s zenith, a near-perfect balance of head rocking indulgence and sorrowful meditation, tapping into and honoring his fallen songwriting hero, Jason Molina.

And what really should be recognized is that this album is the result of a lot of experimentation and a fair share of failure, coming off 2012’s admittedly subpar Dark Shores, which missteps may fall more heavily on the the shoulders of the album’s producer John Vanderslice. Yet that tonally messy album was really just Showalter coming out of his melancholy comfort zone and realizing the need to trust his own instincts. The result is his latest offering that’s able to make sorrow and existential dread exhilarating and a musical style that’s utterly unique while still feeling completely organic. At its worst, it’s pleasantly reminiscent of other artists and styles, and at its best, it’s blending them together in a way that one could hardly imagine possible. - Daniel Ludwig