A NEW SONIC CHAPTER, CENTERING JOY; INFLUENCED BY RAM DASS, ALICE COLTRANE & FREDDIE MERCURY
FOLLOWS ACTING DEBUT ON TWO SEASONS OF FX’S BIKER CRIME DRAMA, MAYANS M.C.
Strand of Oaks, the internationally critically acclaimed musical project of Tim Showalter, announces his eighth studio album, Miracle Focus, out June 7 via Western Vinyl. The album marks a bold departure from Showalter’s previous introspective and deeply cathartic works that tapped into his own traumas. The songs on Miracle Focus celebrate bliss and connection, and were written following Showalter’s transformative embrace of meditation. Influences like Ram Dass, yoga, Freddie Mercury, Alice Coltrane, and the Beastie Boys weave through the deeply fun album, creating a joyful soundscape rich with synth layers and mantra-like lyrics. Today, lead single “More You” is released, setting the stage for this new chapter, offering its rallying cry from among the first lines, “I need something more than me / something beyond what I can see.”
Miracle Focus was crafted over the past three years alongside which Showalter’s life underwent extensive creative expansion outside of music. It saw him flying between his home in Austin, TX, where he took up painting in his garage including creating Miracle Focus’ album art, to Los Angeles, where he played a villainous biker on two seasons of FX’s Mayans M.C., marking his acting debut. Through the thrilling dichotomy, Showalter embarked on a journey of liberation and a dismantling of the person he had become over his 40 years of life.
Showalter says, “Every moment on Miracle Focus is a piece of the architecture that fits together to form a temple of peace in my life. Acceptance of who you are, gratitude of being part of a connected universe, and ultimately I hope it creates one hell of a dance party.”
Miracle Focus continues Showalter’s creative partnership with producer Kevin Ratterman (Ray LaMontagne, Heartless Bastards, Joan Shelley) as the pair’s third album together and it features Lacey Guthrie on backing vocals.
