Joyful Noise Recordings / LP/DL / 2025
Thor & Friends is a musical collective founded in the fall of 2015 by Thor Harris, a prolific musician from Austin, known for collaborations with influential artists such as Bill Callahan, Devendra Banhart, and Shahzad Ismaily. He recently toured with the experimental supergroup Water Damage. After five years as a drummer for Swans, Harris decided to start a project where he could experiment with American minimalism, working with fellow musicians from Austin — and eventually, from across the country.
The three core members of the band are Peggy Ghorbani (marimba), Sarah “Goat” Gautier (marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, organ, vocals, mellotron, and piano), and Thor Harris (percussion and wind instruments).
On their fifth album, Heathen Spirituals, Harris invited twelve musicians to collaborate. The recordings took place over two days in the empty Jessen Auditorium at the University of Texas’ Butler School of Music. The result is a 35-minute album consisting of three long original compositions, built on repetitive rhythms that reflect the instinctive, semi-improvised nature of the band’s live performances.
The opening track, Anne Sexton’s Monocle, begins with trance-inducing marimba rhythms that gradually intertwine with other instruments — violin, bass clarinet, cello — expanding the piece into a hypnotic atmosphere. Based on a polyrhythmic core, the piece flows freely, creating what feels like a superb cinematic soundtrack, perfectly suited to Asian cinema. String instruments build a spacious soundscape, while the winds gently try to break up the structure’s order. Anne Sexton’s Monocle is completely absorbing — and ends abruptly.
The second track, Heathen Spiritual, features the cello as the lead instrument, creating an apocalyptic and unsettling mood. A choir briefly emerges in the background. This time, the musicians steer toward a dystopian ambient landscape, evoking images of a dying planet and the fall of humankind. Heathen Spiritual hits a raw nerve in these troubled times — a beautiful and deeply dark piece.
The final track on the album, Christmas Eve at the Wizard’s House, leads us into the light with delicate marimba plinks. We emerge from the darkness, wrapped in celestial and enchanting music. It’s a musical blossoming toward more optimistic visions — though not entirely. This is how Thor & Friends bring their musical trilogy to a close.
The entire album is a brilliant requiem for the sick times we live in. Heathen Spirituals is a beautiful album, full of musical flavors and a unique atmosphere. Is thirty-five minutes enough? Will it leave you wanting more? For me, this musical journey with Thor and his companions is just right. And for you? You’ll have to decide for yourself by listening to this brilliant record. Highly recommended!
Jarosław Mak
Translation: Piotr Sulik