The Oaks Album Review: Our Fathers and the Things They Left Behind

This album was inspired by the sounds and sights Ryan Costello encountered with Global Hope Network International in Afghanistan, where he lived for two years teaching creative agriculture. It encompasses all that is of the folk-indie genre. Throw in a few random instruments like the trumpet, mandolin and accordion, and you get The Oaks. The melodic voices fit the rhythm of the music in all the right places. It is obvious that the band’s soul has really been put into their work, and something about it just shuts you up and makes you listen. How often do you come across bands with that kind of capacity these days? As if that wasn’t enough, 50 percent of the profits from the record sales are going to help the widows and refugees of Afghanistan. This album is definitely something to appreciate.