Timothy Showalter, or Strand of Oaks, is a Pennsylvania-based school teacher and bus driver who this year released his debut album, Leave Ruin. The record is a collection of nine well-crafted folk tunes that have a worn, familiar feel to them despite this being Showalter’s first effort. His string of personal tribulations and unique experiences seems to have gifted him with a world-weary, yet hopeful perspective that makes the album so earnestly compelling.
Showalter’s classic folk presentation is, at times, reminiscent of songwriters like Neil Young or Bob Dylan, though Strand of Oaks carves out a sound that uses these influences as a guide and not as a blueprint. The opening three tracks are arguably the album’s strongest; “End in Flames” is both sad and sweet, “Two Kids” is a brief, delicate love song to a single mother, and “Lawns Breed Songs” is an honest plea from son to father. Not every track succeeds so completely, but Leave Ruin contains no filler, either. The songs vary greatly in length, with the shortest at two and a half minutes, and the longest at an even nine. Along with the subtle variety in style, the song structures add some needed diversity to the album. MORE