Eraserland Strand of Oaks Artist

The scene isn't my scene anymore croons {|Tim Showalter|} on {|Eraserland|}'s inaugural track and lead single Weird Ways. It's a sentiment that anybody with a rearview mirror can relate to, and as inward-looking as his {|Strand of Oaks|} project has ... Read more

The scene isn't my scene anymore croons {|Tim Showalter|} on {|Eraserland|}'s inaugural track and lead single Weird Ways. It's a sentiment that anybody with a rearview mirror can relate to, and as inward-looking as his {|Strand of Oaks|} project has been over the last decade, {|Showalter|} has rarely sounded as self-referential as he does on the band's seventh full-length effort. After the release of 2017's high-octane {|Hard Love|} and the birth of his son, {|Strand of Oaks|} drifted apart -- {|Showalter|} parses through the aftermath in great detail on the bruising {|Crazy Horse|}-meets-{|the Clash|} dub-rocker Moon Landing, which features a smoldering guest solo from {|Jason Isbell|}. It took some goading from {|My Morning Jacket|} members {|Carl Broemel|}, {|Bo Koster|}, {|Patrick Hallahan|}, and {|Tom Blankenship|}, who also serve as the backup band, but {|Showalter|} found his voice again, and the resulting 11-track set strikes a winning balance between dusty, soul-bearing Midwest folk and sanguine heartland rock. After declaring I Don't Feel It Anymore on the aforementioned Weird Ways, {|Showalter|} looks deep into the abyss, assessing his place in the world from both professional (Wild and Willing) and personal (Keys) perspectives. Channeling {|Springsteen|}, {|Petty|}, and even {|Joshua Tree|}-era {|U2|} at times, the record is at its best when it finds the sweet spot between classic and indie rock, as it does with great conviction on the power pop gem Ruby and the sprawling Hyperspace Blues. Like all of {|Showalter|}'s work, {|Eraserland|} seeks catharsis, but this time around it feels a little bit less aligned with the more hedonistic aspects of the journey. The nearly ten-minute, atmosphere-drenched penultimate cut Forever Chords -- the wordless, ambient, and even longer closer feels a tad excessive -- sums things up most succinctly: If you believe you can be loved/You'll outlive your past/And you hope it never ends. ~ James Christopher Monger Less