Strand Of Oaks, aka Singer/Songwriter Timothy Showalter started making a name for himself in the late 2010's. In 2009, he started turning heads with his debut album "Leave Ruin". While I thought Strand Of Oaks had the warm atmosphere down and had an incredible voice, I found a lot of his songs to be a little tedious and I had trouble being into ever track for it's duration. Up next though Stand of Oaks seriously turned my head with the epic "Pope Kildragon" album. Instrumentally, it had a whole lot more going on than just vocals and an acoustic guitar. This album had all sorts of influence from folk rock to country instrumentally, and as far as lyrics go Showalter was starting to seriously become an absolutely masterful storyteller. In other words, Helllllllll yes "Pope Kildragon" was a great folk album. That being said, I really didn't expect to enjoy another Strand of Oaks album nearly as much from Strand of Oaks. His next full length album, "Dark Shores" however, I found myself enjoying just as much. It wasn't nearly as gloomy, and it incorporated a whole lot more of Rock instrumentation, but to be honest I thought he pulled it off very nicely. Then, on 2014's "HEAL", Strand Of Oaks made the BIG leap. He was no longer a Folk artist, he transitioned to straight up Alternative/Indie sounding, very nicely too. Showalter's voice had grown to be so soulful, while yet somber in tone. It was a bold sound for Strand Of Oaks, but I respect the hell out of him for taking this huge risk and leaping to a more electric sound. As far as these new singles go, they've certainly continued down the much heavier route that Strand Of Oaks have been going down, but they've been pretty great loud rockers for the most part. Lets not waste any more time.
(Strand of Oaks classic to get you guys going)
The album starts off with it’s title track, “Hard Love”. Instantly, I have to talk about just how far Showalter has come. His music used to be so bare, so intimate. This is certainly still intimate, but this is the farthest thing from bare anymore. Strangely enough there’s almost some electronic influence in this intro. However, once things begin to step it up a little, there’s almost a Heartland Rock feel to everything, which is something I can SERIOUSLY get behind when it comes to Strand Of Oaks. Showalter’s genre has been a little all over the place over the years, but for the most part this is straight up Indie Rock, and he’s certainly pulling it off. There are no gimmicks here which is refreshing to hear in an era of visual albums and God knows what else. As far as his vocals go, they’ve come a VERY long way. I remember sitting down with his earliest material thinking there was a single distinct feature of his voice. Now, he’s giving us all of these memorable performances and I couldn’t be happier. That being said, I can most definitely understand why some older Strand Of Oaks fans wouldn’t be into this at all, he’s come a long way from being a reserved folk artist. But if your into Showalter going for some heavier tunes, these are still very well crafted, and his emotion is still on point. Instrumentally, Strand of Oaks have been steadily getting heavier for years, but instrumentally this may be his heaviest yet. No, I’m fairly certain you won’t get caught in a Mosh Pit at a Strand Of Oaks show. But this is certainly much heavier. Not to mention, the almost Heartland feel Showalter is going for gives this album a heavy feeling of nostalgia, which is actually really nice, overall this is a solid intro. Up next in the track list however is “Radio Kids”, and absolutely chilling and masterfully penned tune. This track doesn’t waste a single second, building up quickly and confidently, with an even more nostalgic feel then ever. As corny as it sounds, just listening to this track just makes me want to blast down the highway with my windows down. “Radio Kids” also may be his most straightforward song to date. Earlier tracks of his took me a few listens to really appreciate the entire package. This on the other hand is just a triumphant, straight up rock tune that I feel like we need so much more of these days. As far as a “single” goes, this is easily the closest thing to a big one I’ve heard from Strand Of Oaks ever. Sure, there’s some cheesiness in this track, hell I even get a dreaded “Dad Rock” vibe at moments. But I’ll be damned if I can’t help but to eat it all up. Up next is “Everything” which instantly has a much heavier mood, almost a doom-oriented mood. It actually sounds a whole lot more like the material on his “HEAL” album. Everything about “Everything” (HAH) is the exact opposite of “Radio Kids”. There, Showalter sounded so comfortable with himself and so positive (for the most part). On “Everything” on the other hand, he sounds so calculating and so much moodier. Honestly though, it’s not a bad thing at all, this is actually much more of what we’re used to from him. He still sounds confident too,, and while this is far from infectious it’s still a solid track.
As far as a an album goes, “Hard Love” overall is certainly good, but this middle section is absolutely a little on the boring side. Tracks like “On The Hill” start off really nicely with a great atmosphere and some chilling guitar licks, hell theres even a strange mysticism to everything. His vocals to me though are far from ear grabbing on this one. I wouldn’t say they’re bad, but there’s certainly a whole lot more interesting stuff going on in the instrumentals. His vocals do get more passionate as the track goes on which is certainly a huge plus, and Showalter’s lyrical performance is pretty fantastic. But overall this track doesn't click at all for me. There are some cool instrumentals, but they’re still so sluggish, which is especially agitating after how explosive this album started. “Cry” really isn’t that much better, and I’m certainly not going to get the pace picked up like I was hoping. However, those opening piano notes ARE pretty sweet. Showalter certainly sounds at one with the Piano here which is nice, but outside of that this one does little to nothing for me. There are some seriously great elements to this all, but nothing about this really screams originality to me. His vocals are great, the instrumentals are sweet, but this sounds like it could literally be any singer/songwriter out there. It’s like I’m listening to early Strand of Oaks all over again, and it’s very frustrating. Not to mention, that last minute is unnecessary in every way. Thankfully, tracks like “Salt Brothers” save the middle of the album from being completely skip-able. By this point in the album, these tracks are getting moodier by the second. Once again, this sounds much more like the material on “HEAL”, and certainly almost has a blues influence. Showalter’s performance here however is absolutely gripping. If he’s going to go for some more slower tracks here and there, this is certainly the way to go. All of the instrumentals here are so sharp, blending elements of Indie Rock, Country, Folk Rock and plenty of others. Obviously though, Showalter’s performance alone brings everything together. Everything just sounds so incredibly delicate, like he’s only a few bars away from tearing up a little. It’s a solid tune my friends.
Thankfully, Strand of Oaks seriously buckle down when it comes to this finale and make for some seriously amazing tracks to leave us with. First up, we have “Quit It”. We’re back to a more electronic sounding start, but the real story here is Showalter’s voice which sounds absolutely ridiculous. The atmosphere on this one is just so sticky and heavy. This is just such an effective track though has that atmosphere seriously drags you in super close. So much so that the kick drum ushering in the much heavier, rock oriented instrumentals may be the most exciting moment of the entire album. “Quit It” isn’t the most upbeat track on the album, but it’s just upbeat enough to wake me up a little after some of the more forgettable material here. Once again, there’s a huge feeling of nostalgia that helps this one shine, and there's absolutely some classic rock influence as well. Shockingly though, it really doesn’t come off cheesy or overblown. “Rest Of It” is up next, one of the other early singles released from the album. To be honest, he’s certainly choosing the right time to be getting things a little more revved up to leave us with some of the more memorable material here. This track overall isn’t the best, it’s solid and all, but it shares almost all of the same qualities with earlier tunes here. The backing vocals add a little bit of a wild edge to this track, but besides that it’s just more of the same. It’s certainly not bad, but it’s nothing too memorable either. Then we have the album’s finale, “Taking Acid and Talking to My Brother”. As far as an atmospheric track goes, this may be the strongest one here. I’m usually pretty iffy with these more folky tunes from Strand Of Oaks, and they can certainly go one of two ways. This track though is an absolutely home run though. Showalter’s vocals are so smokey and raspy, and all of the subtle constant changes instrumentally are absolutely to die for. Once again, there’s a strong retro vibe to this track, but it’s a whole lot less cheesier and much easier to swallow. And you may have guessed by looking at that title, but yes there’s a strong Psychedelic element to this track as well. But it all works wonderfully, and this ends up being one of Showalter’s most memorable performances here. It’s a shockingly gigantic, and overall wonderful finale.
Rating: 7.8/10
Give A Listen To: "Radio Kids", Salt Brothers", "Quit It", “Taking Acid and Talking to My Brother”
Overall Thoughts: You know I wish I could have liked this album more. There are so many moments here that are some of Showalter's greatest moments as a songwriter. Instrumentally this is one of the most diverse albums he's produced yet, and it's filled with so many fantastic performances that I have a tough time really picking my favorite. However, there are also some serious weak spots that still show Strand of Oaks struggling with some more folk-oriented songs.
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