Orra might as well exist in another time, in the passages scrawled by
those rascals the Grimm brothers, or perhaps in myths and legends of
Anglo-Saxon history. They don’t exist now, when Donald Trump is on the verge of
welcoming in a new weird era of glorious American prosperity and cultural
definition from his gilded throne in the Oval Office; no, Orra prefers the
forests and the earth – they have no interest in the progress that will clearly
be thrust upon the world, the move-it-or-lose-it enthusiasm that is so
desperately needed to kickstart the next stage of human evolution.
[*shocked and horrified emoji*]
I kid! Listen gang, we all know that it’s actually people like Jennifer
Williams (Gossimer) and Sean Conrad (Ashan, Channelers, the dankest tape label,
Inner Islands… besides, uh, Heavy
Mess of course) who are going to press us all forward by harking back to a
simpler time when human helping human was really the only way to survive. The
rudiments of modern life would be present, I guess, in whatever systems people
have concocted for themselves, but man, nobody goes into the woods alone, even
in the daytime, ever ever ever. That’s what I’m getting at. That’s where Orra
dwells, in the shadows, in the deep dark woods, where magic is real and your
kids are not safe.
Orra’s clearly the good witch, though, spinning nifty white magic
through their long-form electroacoustic minimalist pieces (not all descriptors
mine, to avoid plagiarism claims by Heavy Mess’s press corps). Side A, “Glass
Sisters,” really gives off that occult vibe, mysterious, heady, and
otherworldly. Side B’s “Come Down the Night” features distant pulses,
suggesting revels around campfires in distant clearings where pagans call on
their nature gods to invoke their favor. You’re in your bed, though, in your
home during these events – you can only imagine what’s happening out there.
They Mean No Harm, as a
title, is likely the hands-raised, chill-out signal that it’s OK to listen to
this music without fear of spiritual retribution. You’re in good company with
Orra – they’ll guide you toward peaceful places, not toward the literal
torments hinted at by Dante and others. I feel comfortable allowing them to weave
their spells over me – I have no fear that they’re actually going to throw me
in an oven or change me into some animal. Donald Trump, on the other hand,
would probably eat me raw, without even cooking me properly. How very
presidential of him!
--Ryan Masteller
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