{"product_id":"thor-friends-heathen-spirituals-ghostly-clear-vinyl","title":"Thor \u0026 Friends \"Heathen Spirituals\" [Ghostly Clear Vinyl]","description":"\u003cp\u003eLike 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 instrumental ensemble Thor \u0026amp; Friends and the first that accurately resembles the skyward repetition of the Austin-based group’s live performances.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s 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 \u0026amp; 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA 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, 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).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHeathen 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 Sexton’s Glasses” evokes a cognitive crescendo, while the spellbinding “Christmas Eve at the Wizard’s 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 \u0026amp; Friends’ live performances, which thrive on skyward repetition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"---","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":45155438493871,"sku":"602309900007","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0552\/8833\/2463\/files\/4415400-3363405.jpg?v=1747351044","url":"https:\/\/endofanear.sbs\/products\/thor-friends-heathen-spirituals-ghostly-clear-vinyl","provider":"End Of An Ear","version":"1.0","type":"link"}