By Zoe Freisner
If you’re like me, you discovered the Oh Hellos by their song that got popular on TikTok. But they caught and held onto my attention for much longer than 15 seconds. I’d been listening to their artist profile on Spotify, but really dove in with their new EP, Boreas, which was released September 4. The EP itself is named after the Greek god of the north wind and winter, and this definitely is a strong theme throughout. The EP as a whole is extremely cohesive, centering around cold and wintry imagery. This is the third in a series of EPs they’ve put out named after Greek gods; the first two are Notos and Eurus (meaning we can expect Zephyrus next). They have a very unique folk sound, but if you liked Mumford and Sons before they became Coldplay 2, you’ll be sure to like Boreas.
For only being seven songs, the Oh Hellos manage to bring you through the season of winter in only 20 minutes. The EP doesn’t feel too short either; it has time to start with an instrumental piece (“A Kindling, of Sorts”) and have an instrumental interlude in the middle (“Smoke Rising Like Lifted Hands”) and still feel complete. My personal favorites on the EP are “Rose” and the titular “Boreas.” They both have very folky, acoustic sounds, but while “Rose” is much slower and calmer, “Boreas” is much more dramatic with big backing vocals and big instrumentals. My least favorite would have to be “Lapis Lazuli.” It doesn’t seem to fit in as much with the other songs vibe-wise; it’s much more country sounding than folk sounding, which isn’t my taste personally. It doesn’t detract from the EP at all, but it seems to make it veer of course for a bit. The EP ends with “Glowing,” which is much more upbeat and hopeful sounding than the rest of the EP, as we’ve reached the end of winter.
Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised with Boreas. As someone who just found the Oh Hellos recently, I didn’t quite know what to expect with this EP, but it was fun to listen to, had a variety of songs while remaining cohesive, and was a quick listen as well. I would highly recommend listening to this while going for an early morning hike; it would be the perfect accompaniment to a sunrise on a cold day.
xX Long live college radio Xx
