Strand Of Oaks

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Timothy Showalter has a very active fantasy life: the singer/songwriter behind Strand of Oaks has previously written songs about giants, bowling-related fatalities, exacting vengeance on John Belushi's drug dealer, and lunar colonies. On the lead track from his Dead Oceans debut;HEAL, the Hoosier-born Showalter simply relates his own origin story: "I was fat, drunk and mean," he snarls, and he was also wasting away in his basement with Casio keyboards and singing Smashing Pumpkins songs in the mirror. You can hear how this influenced the prog-folk on 2010's still-fascinating but on "Goshen '97," but Strand of Oaks have evolved into a raw and reckless rock band here, ripping away the shame and humiliation of Showalter's teenage years. He looks back with more honesty than nostalgia, the chorus admitting, "I was lonely, but I was having fun." But "Goshen '97" doesn't need to be overt about what it's actually celebrating, which is Showalter actually living his own dream: he's on the same label as his idol (Jason Molina) and the artists he's toured with (Phosphorescent, the Tallest Man on Earth, Damien Jurado) and, yup, that's J. Mascis.

Christopher Denny

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Christopher Denny has a voice that will stop you in your tracks; a fervent Orbison meets Dylan tenor that fills his songs with a tremendous emotional pressure. It’s the voice of a Southern choirboy who attended the church of alcohol, drugs and self-destruction in a failed attempt to deal with his inner pain and conflicts. He has a gift for infusing simple words with raw sentiment and marrying them to haunting melodies that immediately capture your attention. “The album was inspired by my struggles,” Denny says. “The moments in my life that caused me the most hurt and brought me the most beauty. The songs deal with the self-loathing, fear and thoughts of inadequacy we all struggle with, something I call soft suicide.”