Strand of Oaks - Eraserland - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Strand of Oaks returns with a vibrant new chapter, Miracle Focus. This album marks a bold departure from Tim's previous introspective work, embracing a sound that's uplifting, diverse, and deeply personal.Tim spent three years crafting Miracle Focus, a period that saw him explore new creative avenues through painting and acting. This artistic expansion fueled a journey of liberation, and a fresh approach to songwriting.Gone are the days of grappling with trauma, replaced by a desire to Inchmake people feel good.Inch Influences like Ram Dass, yoga, Freddie Mercury, Alice Coltrane, and the Beastie Boys weave through the album, creating a joyful soundscape rich with synth layers and mantra-like lyrics.Miracle Focus is a collaborative effort, with producer Kevin Ratterman (Ray LaMontagne, Heartless Bastards, Joan Shelley) returning as a key partner. Together, they achieved a seamless creative flow in the studio, further invigorated by the presence of Lacey Guthrie on vocals.The album title, Miracle Focus, embodies the collective energy that emerges when individuals come together with purpose and passion. It's a celebration of bliss and the simple beauty of existence.Each song on Miracle Focus offers a unique sonic and lyrical experience InchMore YouInch sets the stage, urging listeners to embrace a spirit of love and letting go.InchCommunicationInch invites connection through movement and joyful expression.InchAnandaInch delves into the sensuality of connection and spiritual practice.InchFuture TempleInch is an uplifting call to build a personal temple of purpose and love.InchParty at Monster LakeInch welcomes the misfits, celebrating community and acceptance.InchSwitched OnInch promotes letting go of the weight of experience and embracing the present moment.InchNavigatorInch encourages meditation and self-discovery.InchAscend YouInch marks a personal transformation fuele

Tim Showalter's latest as Strand of Oaks, Hard Love, emanates an unabashed, raw, and manic energy that embodies both the songs and the songwriter behind them. InchFor me, there are always two forces at work the side that's constantly on the hunt for the perfect song, and the side that's naked in the desert screaming at the moon. It's about finding a place where neither side is compromised, only elevated.Inch Drawing from his love of Creation Records, Trojan dub compilations, and Jane's Addiction, and informe by a particularly wild time at Australia's Boogie Festival, he sought to create a record that would merge all of these influences while evoking something new and visceral. These influences coupled with an uninhibited and collaborative studio experience moved an initial concept for a singularly feel-good record to something more complex and real. As much as Showalter wants this record to seem like a party, it's more than that. It feels like living. InchYou went away... you went searching... came back tired of lookingInch is how Showalter begins the title track, a sentiment that epitomizes Showalter's own mentality in beginning Hard Love. As the record progresses, so do the themes of dissatisfaction and frustration with love, family, success, and aging, both in personal experience and songwriting.

Add Cripple Clarence Lofton, Henry Brown and Speckled Red to the boogie woogie triumvirate cited in the album title, and you've got one solid, piano-pounding collection! Includes Pinetop's Blues Albert Ammons; Doll House Boogie Meade Lux Lewis; Dirty Dozens Speckled Red; Boogie Woogie Prayer Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson & Meade Lux Lewis; Deep Morgan Henry Brown; G-Flat Blues Pete Johnson; Streamline Train Cripple Clarence Lofton, and more.