Hearthbound premieres in two days, and I gotta stop poring over our working files over and over again in the Sisyphean task of final "final" quality checks. Instead, it's time to revisit some of my favorite shows and listen to some new ones! For the next few months, I'm going to highlight shows that grapple with similar themes or explore landscapes akin to ours. Good art abounds!
🛡️ @camlannpod
Season 1 Episode 1 - Keep the Home Fires Burning
The chills I got as Dai sang the first few bars of Tân yn Llŷn, his lilting voice rising gently over a crackling fire. Every scene is so immersive, like they could have been pulled straight from an animated show or an RPG cutscene. I remember watching this video of the cast performing the episode with real-world blocking, and it just exemplifies director Ella Watts' ability to pull out such grounded, dropped-in performances from her actors. One of my favorite shows that premiered last year. It's a joy to listen through again!
🐴 MERCY
Season 1 Episode 1 - BLISS
This eldritch horror western by @strangekindstudio caught my eye immediately (I love a Weird West, clearly). Monster hunter Wayne Sawyer is like if Arthur Morgan met Geralt of Rivia, and Doctor Daisy Gray is like if Mulder met a homicidal long-haired cat. I love the way the characters embrace and turn well-trod tropes on their heads, and honestly all spaghetti westerns need more unfathomable sky jellyfish.
🌌 Generation Crossing
Track 1 - Departure, Track 2 - Emptiness
Now I owe a lot to Marc Sollinger and Dan Powell of @archive81. They were the ones to introduce me to my director, Jack Calk, and sound designer, Levi Sharpe. It's a joy to watch them push the medium of audio dramas even further with this concept album. "Departure" beautifully sets the stage for a sweeping journey of desperation and hope, and Jack's monologue in "Emptiness" wonderfully introduces us to the human element, the day-to-day, the wondering.
🧳 Travelling Light
Episode 47
I greatly enjoyed the juxtaposition of the Traveller deep diving into local myth-building with the careful lightness of their conversation with Óli. And @monstrousproductions' depiction of a secondhand bookstore and its bookseller tells me that the retail curmudgeonness and chaotic shop hours are a universal experience. This is the first time I got to vote on the audience decision! I chose for the Traveller to spend time with Óli in the morning making breakfast together, as I am a sleepy girl and could never successfully stay up late myself.