{"id":42661,"date":"2025-06-14T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=42661"},"modified":"2025-05-20T20:55:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T00:55:55","slug":"thor-friends-tap-into-the-cosmos-with-new-album-heathen-spirituals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=42661","title":{"rendered":"Thor & Friends tap into the cosmos with new album\u00a0\u2018Heathen Spirituals\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ever wonder what it would sound like if a minimalist orchestra held a s\u00e9ance in an empty art-deco auditorium? Yeah, neither did we\u2014but now that \u2018Heathen Spirituals<\/a>\u2019 exists, we can\u2019t stop thinking about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thor & Friends, the mesmerizing instrumental collective led by Austin\u2019s beloved percussion wizard Thor Harris, have just dropped their latest sonic spell \u2018Heathen Spirituals\u2019 via Joyful Noise Recordings. It’s a bold, beautiful evolution\u2014what started as a trio of mallet-wielding mystics has now blossomed into a full-blown orchestral force, 13 players strong, conjuring cinematic soundscapes with nothing but wood, metal, and breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here\u2019s the kicker: it was all captured live inside the Jessen Auditorium at the University of Texas, a stunning art-deco hall with just the right mix of echo and ghost energy. No amps. No crowds. Just instruments and air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t just a record. It\u2019s a ritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sound of \u2018Heathen Spirituals\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This album flows like a fever dream. The opening track, Anne Sexton\u2019s Glasses<\/em>, builds slowly into a hypnotic crescendo that feels like the mind cracking open. The title track, Heathen Spiritual<\/em>, is an apocalyptic lullaby with a swelling choral section that makes you want to cry, levitate, or maybe both. And then there’s Christmas Eve at the Wizard\u2019s House<\/em>\u2014which sounds exactly<\/em> like what you hope that would sound like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three-track journey clocks in at just over 35 minutes, but time feels… irrelevant. These are sonic spells, not songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who\u2019s Behind the Magic?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of the ensemble is Thor Harris\u2014craftsman, provocateur, punk rock shaman. You may know him from his work with Swans, Shearwater, or his infamous \u201cHow to Punch a Nazi\u201d video (which got him temporarily kicked off Twitter in 2017). But Thor & Friends<\/em> is something more tender, more elemental. As Harris puts it in the liner notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis is a band about friendship. Should we spend our days making art as mankind careens toward extinction? Absolutely yes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Surrounding Thor is a crew of talented misfits: marimba mavens, bowed bass wizards, pedal steel dreamers, and a choir (yes, really) called the Unwound Sound Singers. Think Meredith Monk meets Philip Glass, with a touch of Texas heat and a heavy pour of heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TRACKLIST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Anne Sexton\u2019s Glasses<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Heathen Spiritual<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Christmas Eve at the Wizard\u2019s House<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    Where to Listen:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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