Holy Oak, the project of Montreal raised and Los Angeles singer-songwriter Neil Holyoak released his new album Second Son a week and a half back. It’s his first under the Holy Oak moniker since 2013 and fourth overall. From its folk, rock and country roots, it’s an album that unfurls its undoubted qualities slowly, quietly and without fanfare. Holyoak describes himself, among other things, as a nihilistic futurist, a label that is very much in keeping with the album’s dichotomies and learned uncertainties. Its been variously described as a work of ‘beautiful’, ‘triumphant’ sadness reflecting a sense, through the employment of arresting vignettes, of the forlorn mixed in with flickers of optimism. The choice to enlist Howard Bilerman on production was a masterstroke as he gives a surreal, buoyant quality to what are essentially very patient and earthy arrangements. Three singles were shared in the lead up to the album’s release, the latest being the gorgeously paced ‘Dead Time’. Listen to all three below and get a copy of the album here.
Tracklist
1. Basilisk
2. Second Son
3. Silver Boys
4. Laughing Man
5. Dead Time
6. Isabelle
7. Cockatoo
8. Two Dollar Movie
9. #justmarried
Dead Time
Holy Oak (CAN)
From the album, ‘Second Son’, Holyoak Records.
Holy Oak Official
Audio Stream
Isabelle
Holy Oak (USA)
From the album, ‘Second Son’, Holyoak Records.
Holy Oak Facebook
Audio Stream
Second Son
Holy Oak (USA)
From the album, ‘Second Son’, Holyoak Records.
Holy Oak Soundcloud
Audio Stream