Strand of Oaks

Folky rock now, grown out of a more Americana sound.  I checked out this band's most recent album at the end of 2014 because it made the Grantland top ten albums of the year list.  I was so put off by the fact that the writer compared the album to the Smashing Pumpkins that I don't think I ever really gave the music a chance to stand on its own.  Totally not the Smashing Pumpkins.  But pretty good if you get over trying to compare it to that band.

The band is a guy named Tim Showalter, who has a massive beard of beauty.  That most recent album (2014's HEAL) more reminds me of old Arcade Fire using the Cure's synths ("HEAL") or some late-80's / early-90's jangle rock like the Replacements ("Goshen '97") or a Ryan Adams-esque dad rock thing. The most popular track on Spotify is that last song, "Goshen '97"

Here is the second most popular tune he has on Spotify, called "Shut In"

This one sounds more like War on Drugs or Ryan Adams.  Confessional rock and roll anthems ready to have a lighter raised to them in the crowd.  I love that line though, about when he was born, everything good had already been made.  He's got some pretty salty hot-molten-lava guitar solos in here, like on both "JM" and "Mirage Year."  I like this album.  More so now than when I first listened to it, but it is also a little uneven.

The album before this one, 2012's Dark Shores, is a gentler, folkier album.  "Little Wishes" or "Satellite Moon" are the two best tracks from that album.  Then there is 2010's Pope Killdragon, which is even stranger, with an opening instrumental track that sounds like a Dark Side of the Moon outtake, then he goes with a really light touch on acoustic guitar tunes until some sludge guitar rock action on "Giant's Despair," only to go right back to chilled acoustics with a few synth flourishes.  It's actually damn pretty, even when it transitions back and forth.  Really good rainy day music.  Finally, you've got 2009's Leave Ruin, which is more pretty acoustic Americana with some banjo/mandolin thrown in that doesn't show up in his later work.  Some extremely pretty music on this one.  Talented guy.

I think this would be a pretty good show.  He shows a lot of angles in his music, so I'm not sure which one you could really expect, but all of the different facets are good ones.