• News

• All

Jan 15, 2019 By Christopher Roberts My Morning Jacket

Strand of Oaks (the project of Timothy Showalter) has announced a new album, Eraserland, and shared its first single, and opening track, “Weird Ways.” Eraserland is due out March 22 via Dead Oceans. The majority of My Morning Jacket (Carl Broemel, Bo Koster, Patrick Hallahan, and Tom Blankenship) back-up Showalter on Eraserland, which also features Jason Isbell and Emma Ruth Rundle. Strand of Oaks have also announced some tour dates. Check out “Weird Ways” below, which is followed by the album’s tracklist and cover art, as well as Strand of Oaks’ upcoming tour dates.

The album is the follow-up to 2017’s Hard Love. Kevin Ratterman produced the album, which was recorded at La La Land Studios in Louisville, KY. A press release sets the stage for the album: “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.” His friends in My Morning Jacket, especially Carl Broemel, heard Showalter was in a bad way and offered their assistance in recording the next Strand of Oaks album, that they could be his backing band. So Showalter got to writing and demoing the new album in February 2017, alone in Wildwood, NJ. Then the album was recorded in Louisville in April 2017.

“This project seemed to just fall together naturally,” says Broemel in a press release. “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.”

My Morning Jacket’s Patrick Hallahan adds: “I remember sitting next to Tim and Kevin listening to the final mixes with tears rolling down my cheeks. From start to finish, this one came from the heart.”

A press release calls “Forever Chords” the definitive track on Eraserland, saying the song is “the manifestation of everything he hoped to achieve on this record and for Strand of Oaks as a whole.”

Showalter adds: “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.”

Hopefully it’s resulted in the latter. It seems as much.

Read our review of Hard Love.

Eraserland Tracklist:

1. Weird Ways
2. Hyperspace Blues
3. Keys
4. Visions
5. Final Fires
6. Moon Landing
7. Ruby
8. Wild and Willing
9. Eraserland
10. Forever Chords

Strand of Oaks 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 - Meow Wolf - 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
5/24 - Privatclub - Berlin, GERMANY
5/25 - TivoliVredenburg - Utrecht, AMSTERDAM
5/26 - TRIX - Antwerp, BELGIUM
5/27 - Omeara - London, UK

Support Under the Radar on Patreon.