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 Pope Killdragon, 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 playing guitar on here.

Strand of Oaks: "Goshen '97" (via SoundCloud)