Thin Places Radio comes recommended by its sound designer Kaitlin Bruder for its “unique format.”
An audio drama formatted as a radio show, complete with a phone number for listeners to call in. It’s unclear whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. The phone number seems legit and the calls the host receives sound like they could be real callers. Like Untold Virginia, it blends reality with fiction seamlessly.
A Fun Premise with a Down to Earth Host
The calls from each individual episode are specific to the episodes they play in, with some overlap in later episodes. The calls all have a theme of the supernatural and weird happenstances. The scripts are clearly tailored around the call for that episode. Some are creative. Others are more obvious and border on cliches. The host isn’t like most radio DJs who talk with the same cadence in real life as they would on air. For them there’re no difference between them. It’s a habit than anything else. That’s why this timid-sounding host is unique. It goes against what people think.
Constantly changing recording studios and the clever names given to them are a delight and add depth to an otherwise monotonous routine. The audio dramas format is relatively simple. After the host introduces the show with the opening monologue describing it in each episode. The words before the theme music: “It’s the middle of the night, but don’t worry, you’re not alone” sets up the tone along with the host’s cadence. There’s something peaceful about it, like listening to a yoga instructor or mindfulness couch getting you to relax with their voice and words.
Thriller Pacing in Thin Places Radio
Episodes 1-7 morph into one amorphous entity, with episodes that become indistinguishable from one another and no sense of progress for the listener. Episode 8 changes that, but again you’re not sure where the story is going. Or if this even has a narrative thread. Once the host’s existential crisis goes away, it’s back to the grind with more of the same. The moments of characterization are few and far between thus far. Out of the 19 episodes currently available at the time of this writing, two stand out as dealing with the host.
Despite or perhaps because of the short, bite-sized nature of each episode—the 19 episodes go by quick. It’s practically a thriller minus the anxiety that sometimes accompanies these types of stories. On one side, it made binging easy and enjoyable. Something not many audio dramas have done for me personally. On the other hand, the actual content of the majority of episodes I couldn’t tell you anything about. While being unique to the audio drama shows with similar frame narratives, it just barely reaches the “Ground Breaking” rating tier.
9/10 Stars
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