Album Review – Strand of Oaks – Leave Ruin

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When I was eighteen a friend and I, fed up with the trivialities of our everyday existences, decided to embark on a trip that would take us from the winter deadened heartland ofthe Midwest to the golden gated paradise of the west. By train. It was the most obvious choice of transportation for two kids looking to loaf around and skirt responsibility for as long as possible. Plus, the 54 hours on the California Zephyr would be a lot easier on our canvas and velcro wallets as it included 4 1/2 days of virtually free lodging. Now, I don’t want to go into all of the details of this trip, all I really want to do is write about the second release of the 2009 that has me going absolutely crazy.

So, why the back-story? Well, while I can still picture and taste the eternal smoke cloud that insulated the smoking car, remember the late night conversations with old drunks and authors, and feel the ache in my back from 4 nights of crouching to sleep in the smallest spaces imaginable, it is the music that acted as soundtrack on this journey that I remember most vividly.

Stashed away in my pack, obvious for this time of my life, were stacks of Grateful Dead & Phish bootlegs and also two Neil Young tapes. While the live shows failed to make it from their cases to my Walkman, Harvest and After the Gold Rush were nearly worn out by the end of this trip. ”Out on the Weekend,” and “After the Gold Rush” eased my mind and eased my eyes to a close as we rolled through city after city, while the moon failed to illuminate the barren landscapes of Iowa and Nebraska.

Looking back, Neil’s vocals, minced with his amazing words acted a perfect musical companion. If someone were to say to me “I’m taking a train across the country next week, do you have any suggestions for music I should bring for the long nights?”

My answer would certainly include those two gems from NY’s catalogue, Bon Iver’s For Emma… and an album that is being compared to and touted as this years For Emma, Strand of OaksLeave Ruin. While I don’t typically like when a new album is compared to one that is still wet from the presses, I find it quite fitting they’re getting paired together. One reason for this is that they both emote a vibe of desolation and loss. My own observation reveals that they both symbolize what I can only describe as “blue-collared” as I find both to be filled with dirt, dust, and grease that makes its way from Eau Claire, WI and Wilkes-Barre, PA through your speakers and into your ears. This is not to say that both albums are the same, but simply that they share the same pulp and plasma that make them both equally important listens.

The instrumentation (acoustic guitar, banjo, Rhodes, drums, among others) help make Leave Ruin grittily full of wonderfulness but the lyrics, pregnant with imagery and a catalyst for remembrances, are the true champion here. To get an overall feel for the record without listening to it, think Sun Kil Moon’s Ghosts of the Great Highway, Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks (yeah I said it) or any other emotional juggernaut that makes you feel every fucking word. One minute you’re cringing in pain, the next smiling with joy, and the next you’re awake to what is being meditated in your ears. No matter how the wind may blow that day, I guarantee that you will have some kind of emotional reaction to this record.

My wife says its HEAVY and heavy is such a great way to describe it. For anyone that has seen In the Bedroom (2001), in places Leave Ruin is just as crushingly heavy as that film. After multiple listens and a conversation with the creator of it, the record reads well as the confessions of Timothy Showalter, the man behind Strand of Oaks. His songs are personal and devastatingly telling. And these confessions that are packaged together beautifully into 3 and four minute musical stories (with the exception of my favorite “New Paris” & “Do You Like To Read”) are so personal that one could think that Leave Ruin might have been made so Showalter could finally be released from whatever toil that urged him to put them down in the first place.

There are so many things that I love about the album as a whole but the thing that I appreciate the most about it and the thing that keeps me coming back to it is that he’s not afraid to admit that he’s scared, wrong, or that things in his life have caused him pain. But more importantly, he sings about uncertainty. And when he does it is so damn comforting. The listener is greeted at the front door of track 1 with “Thought I was too old to have dreams like this…” What a beautiful way to begin. I have uttered similar phrases to the confused kid that I am and to my closest friends far too many times to remember and I’m sure countless others have felt and done the same. When these feelings arise fists pounding or some other aggression relieving activity usually follows them, but when Tim sings about them I feel so unbelievably good about where I stand, where I’ve been, and where I’m going. We, the late twenty-something dreamers that have yet to conquer our fears and realize our hopes aren’t alone. Whether it’s for a walk in the park, a dinner party, or a trip across the country, we’ve got a new companion. It’s an amazing record that requires multiple listens. I hope you enjoy it.

MP3: Strand of Oaks-End in Flames

MP3: Strand of Oaks-Two Kids