Strand of Oaks
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In 2003, Tim Showalter’s house burned down, his fiancée left him, and he resorted to writing songs on an acoustic guitar while living on park benches in suburban Philadelphia. Those events informed the entirety of his arresting debut, Leave Ruin , an album about loss and brokenness and lack of faith. But as affecting as it was, Showalter is leery of being stuck in the past. After all, the first word of that record’s title is “leave,” and one of the first thing he asks when contacted for this interview is, “Can we kind of re-do my bio? I don’t want to keep being the sad sack whose house burned down.”
These days, Showalter is happily married and comfortably settled in Philadelphia, and he’s staring down the release of his second record, Pope Killdragon, an album that’s even stranger and more singular. Where Ruin was stark and autobiographical, Killdragon — which features odd, laser-beam synthesizers and one bona fide stoner metal track — is wild and fantastical. Showalter either invents characters whole cloth, or takes an approach to history so liberal even Tarantino would give pause (John F. Kennedy authors a fable about a knight; Dan Aykroyd carries out a revenge killing for the death of John Belushi). It’s a bold, eerie, mighty work — though the man responsible for it couldn’t be more affable or good natured.
These days, Showalter is happily married and comfortably settled in Philadelphia, and he’s staring down the release of his second record, Pope Killdragon, an album that’s even stranger and more singular. Where Ruin was stark and autobiographical, Killdragon — which features odd, laser-beam synthesizers and one bona fide stoner metal track — is wild and fantastical. Showalter either invents characters whole cloth, or takes an approach to history so liberal even Tarantino would give pause (John F. Kennedy authors a fable about a knight; Dan Aykroyd carries out a revenge killing for the death of John Belushi). It’s a bold, eerie, mighty work — though the man responsible for it couldn’t be more affable or good natured.
Shouts:
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Featured Tracks
| FULL TRACK Dogs of War | 3:16 |
| FULL TRACK Mourning Worker | 4:03 |
| FULL TRACK Lawns Breed Songs | 2:47 |
| FULL TRACK Untitled | 0:14 |
| FULL TRACK Forty-Five Today | 4:55 |
| FULL TRACK End in Flames | 4:18 |
Top Albums
Shoutbox
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nordic_girl wrote:
fuck`n beautiful.
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loveisa_risk wrote:
perfect
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mschea wrote:
really loving pope killdragon.
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RaggaGammler_ wrote:
great.
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chakazulu352 wrote:
Come to Gainesville, FL. Please, I can make it happen!
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Persona3200 wrote:
I can't believe he is coming to the Pilot Light and I can't go.
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lobitlandscapes wrote:
nihiti remix of sterling: strand of oaks - sterling (nihiti saw) http://www.tinymixtapes.com/chocolate-grinder/listen-strand-oaksnihiti-sterling-nihiti-remix
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indie_paula wrote:
I felt in love. ^^
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mandybecca wrote:
so so so so so so so so so beautiful.
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Exodeus wrote:
Bonfire is magical, love it
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CreepingElm wrote:
Strand of Oaks @ The Satellite Silver Lake, Ca 5.20.11 http://creepingelm.blogspot.com/2011/05/strand-of-oaks-satellite-52011.html Awesome show!
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jackiechrist wrote:
again: love.
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CND380sec wrote:
They're brilliant! GREAT music.
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james2015 wrote:
This stuff is amazing!!
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ubermenschean wrote:
Why don't they have Pope Killdragon on their album list? Listening to it now and digging it.
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Whatthefernando wrote:
Not enough people listen to Tim's amazing music..
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farmolio wrote:
I am all about this now. This is great music.
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straightxfaced wrote:
can't get enough
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jonsalimes wrote:
Official video for "Last to Swim" http://vimeo.com/18247391
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NoHumanCanDrown wrote:
Pope Killdragon's brilliant [2]
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Recent Activity
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Inklings22 added Strand of Oaks to Inklings22’s library. Saturday evening
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Dvoja tagged Strand of Oaks with ‘folk rock’. Wednesday evening
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Mr-pantsman and neilhl4 added Strand of Oaks to their libraries. Tuesday evening
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Kicki68 tagged Strand of Oaks with singer-songwriter and folk. Tuesday afternoon
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sez_says, CallMeKatt18, Mackenzie95 and 8 other people added Strand of Oaks to their libraries. Tuesday morning
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icaro2416 updated the Spanish wiki page for Strand of Oaks. (diff) last month
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richardsb created the Spanish wiki page for Strand of Oaks. last month
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