Heathen Spirituals [LP] (Ghostly Clear Vinyl)

Thor & Friends - Heathen Spirituals [LP] (Ghostly Clear Vinyl)

Like a scene from a dream, Thor Harris stood upon a crowded stage, 13 players deep: tapping, plucking, bowing, blowing lyric-less love songs to a grand auditorium of 325 shining red seats without a soul sitting in any of them. This was the creation of Heathen Spirituals, the fifth recorded work by Harris adventurous ambient ensemble Thor & Friends and the first that accurately resembles the skyward repetition of the Austin-based groups live performances. Its a century-old concept: cutting a record in an empty music hall. Masterminded by intrepid producer and lifelong Harris collaborator Craig Ross (Patty Griffin, Spoon), Thor & Friends roster of musically accomplished misfits spent two days wired up, playing free-flowing meditational pieces on unamplified orchestral instruments inside Jessen Auditorium, a stunning Art Deco relic from the early days of the University of Texas Butler School of Music the esteemed institution that Harris dropped out from decades ago. A craftsman, artistically and otherwise, Thor Harris is master plumber, carpenter, and woodworker. In musical contexts, his name is often followed by the five words: known for his work with, having been a member of avant rock godheads SWANS and high-minded indie favorites Shearwater, while also factoring into important recordings by Bill Callahan, Amanda Palmer, Devendra Banhart, and Shahzad Ismaily. In many circles, Harris is equally well-known for being an openhearted mental health advocate with a devilish sense of humor and a penchant for entertaining social commentary (Harris How to Punch a Nazi instructional video got him famously banned from Twitter in 2017). Heathen Spirituals, arriving May 16th, 2025, on Joyful Noise Recordings, contains three original pieces with a 35-minute runtime. The rhythmic repetition of opening seance Anne Sextons Glasses evokes a cognitive crescendo, while the spellbinding Christmas Eve at the Wizards House evokes a sense of weightlessness, sucking the listener up into the firmament then floating them back down. The crashing, choir-backed Heathen Spiritual, meanwhile, stirs a gorgeous requiem for a dying planet. In glorious fidelity, the sessions capture the instinctual purity of Thor & Friends live performances, which thrive on skyward repetition.