Strand of Oaks' Timothy Showalter is releasing his sixth studio album, Eraserland, on March 22 via Dead Oceans. Last month, he shared the lead single “Weird Ways” and today we’ve received Showalter’s “happiest song” to date, “Ruby.” In a press statement, he says this about the song:
“'Ruby' isn’t a person, rather the concept of time and memory and how with every passing year it becomes non-linear. In the past, I would’ve dismissed such unabashedly pure optimism, but I’ve been through a lot and I’ve learned to appreciate those rare moments of light.”
Eraserland was made in the aftermath of a deep depression Showalter experienced following the release of his last album, 2017’s Hard Love. The record features members of My Morning Jacket as well as Jason Isbell as his backing band. “Ruby” was shared via a music video comprised entirely of VHS family footage. “This past year my little brother Jon spent countless hours trying to convert my family’s collection of home movies,” Showalter noted. “Somehow my dad in 1988 got a camera with ‘Buick Points’ and then proceeded to have a side career as world-class cinematographer.”
Strand of Oaks will be in Seattle on Friday, April 26 to play Neumos. Below, watch the video for “Ruby” as well as Strand Of Oaks’ live performance during KEXP's New Home Grand Opening in 2016.
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unrealeased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the …
It's the moment we've all been waiting for: this Saturday, April 16th, KEXP will throw open the doors to the KEXP New Home with a free, all-ages celebration from Noon until 9:00 PM. Come see the station you helped build! There will be tours, food, beer, and, of course, what matters most: music.
Describing My Morning Jacket's live show is almost as difficult as describing their music. While tagging it with a reductive broad stroke isn't that hard ("rock music"), listing out the individual elements that play into the band's style can come off as too disparate to make it their music seem com…
