Boreas

## Chronology

*Eurus*

***Boreas***

*Zephyrus*

***Boreas*** is the third EP in the Four Winds series released by indie folk rock band The Oh Hellos. The EP was released on Friday, September 4, 2020 both to stream on Spotify and for digital download on Bandcamp. It was additionally released as a physical copy, either as a CD on its own or as side A of a 12-inch vinyl alongside the *Zephyrus* EP.

## Background

See also: Four Winds (series)

In early 2016, Tyler Heath aimed to create a series of EPs that were more relaxed in tone and scope, thus allowing him to decompress from the complex nature of their second album, *Dear Wormwood*. Meanwhile, Maggie began reflecting on her own Christian faith and values and started writing about them on her own. While the project was initially inspired by the motif of the four seasons, both Tyler and Maggie soon realized that angle had already been approached by several artists before them. Aiming to do something unique with the concept, they stumbled upon to the four Greek wind deities of *Anemoi*, representing transitions between seasons. Echoing themes of evolution and growth as well as Greek mythology being ingrained prominently in modern American culture, they were drawn to the Anemoi gods. However, following the 2016 Presidential Election and the radicalism and social division that followed, they began to contemplate their own values and upbringing. This resulted in a shattering disillusionment and sense of uncertainty for them, both as Christians and as residents of southern Texas. The ensuing election shifted the course of the project dramatically, and they felt a responsibility to use their music to address the current issues, start a conversation about changing values and the political situation, and reconcile their ever-evolving emotions on the social climate. Therefore, the Anemoi gods and themes of changing seasons became a natural springboard for the project.

From this newfound place, Tyler and Maggie began work throughout 2017 on composing and writing the series, taking 11 months to write and record the first two EP’s, *Notos* and *Eurus* as well as begin planning for the last two, *Boreas* and *Zephyrus*. In November 2017, the band announced the project, establishing the premise of the series as examining the question, "Where did my ideas come from?". Subsequently, the first two EPs were released in December 2017 and February 2018 respectively. However, as Tyler and Maggie continued work on the last two EPs, their own internal conflicts between their understandings of Christianity and the increasing support for politics contradictory to those teachings reached a fever pitch. Due to this turmoil and their own crisis of conscience, they took more time between *Eurus* and *Boreas* and wanted to leave room to reflect and be honest about the project and the emotions surrounding it as they continued to work. Despite this break, when the COVID-19 pandemic went into effect in March 2020, they eventually felt that this would be the perfect time to finish and release the last EPs and conclude the series.

## Production and Release

On August 11, 2020—a full two-and-a-half years after the release of *Eurus*—The Oh Hellos posted a video onto their social media accounts with an animation of a bear walking through snow in differing landscapes, created by illustrator and musician Louie Zong. Additionally, the post included the date “8.21.20,” which many interpreted to be related to release of the next EP. In fact, the band even used the opening instrumental track from the *Boreas* EP, "A Kindling, of Sorts", as the background music for said announcement video. The day after the video was posted, people on social media caught wind of album art on the Genius app that was reminiscent of the art previously featured on *Notos* and *Eurus*, supposedly confirming the release of the next EP. Just as the album art predicted, the band subsequently announced the third EP in the series, *Boreas*, on August 21st. The same day, they released the lead single for the EP, the title track “Boreas.”

Named for the northern wind deity that ushers in winter, *Boreas* was meant to build further on the themes laid out in the previous entries in the series. While *Notos* and *Eurus* aimed to contemplate the challenging of one's worldviews and the uncertainty of the fracturing of those worldviews and group alliances, *Boreas* aimed to confront the fallout of the choices leading to that fracture and how to ultimately rise from the uncertainty better and kinder. The band described *Boreas* as hearkening to the complacency and apathy that can be created through ignoring the difficulties of others - a topic that has been highly relevant to the political and social situation present since before the series began. It attempted to explore how one can grow from the dilemmas central to *Eurus* and let the winter "kindle us into something warmer and softer than who we’ve been.” In keeping with the seasonal motif for *Boreas*, it was meant to musically conjure images of "snow-blanketed darkness, candlelight behind cupped hands, and a vast night sky ribboned with stars and auroras." *Boreas*' cover features the image of a bear hibernating, and although the exact type of bear is unknown, it seems to be a logical progression given the rest of the series and is befitting of the winter motif of the EP.[*citation needed*] Additionally, the plant on lead single and title track "Boreas" features what has been often theorized to be a birch branch, its last leaf falling to the ground. [*citation needed*]

*Boreas* was officially released on Bandcamp, Spotify and other streaming platforms on September 4, 2020. It was later released on physical media such as on CD as well as on a split vinyl with the *Zephyrus* EP, with *Boreas* serving as side A of the record. As of December 2022, *Boreas* collectively has 8.43 million plays across all seven tracks on Spotify, with lead single and title track "Boreas" holding the most listens at over 2.9 million plays.

## Gallery

Split vinylVinyl coverTracklistSplit vinyl tracklistSide ALyric sheet
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 “Maggie and Tyler Heath: The Oh Hellos”. The BlackSheep Podcast: Presented by HM Magazine. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Harras, M. (2018, April 4). The Oh Hellos Interview. RadioUTD. http://radioutd.com/blog/2018/04/oh-hellos-interview/
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Heyde, K. (2018, March 26). Interview with Oh Hellos: Music as a Conversation in Modern Times of Uncertainty. Teal Magazine. https://tealmagazine.com/articles/interview-with-oh-hellos
4. ↑ The Oh Hellos. (2017, November 15) “Our new EP #Notos will be released on December…” Twitter. https://twitter.com/theohhellos/status/930935442236514304
5. ↑ Notos. (2017, November 15). The Oh Hellos. https://music.theohhellos.com/album/notos
6. ↑ The Oh Hellos. (2017, December 8) “Our new EP Notos is now available everywhere! Stream, download HERE” Twitter. https://twitter.com/theohhellos/status/939134752321179649
7. ↑ The Oh Hellos. (2018, February 9) “Eurus is out today! Available at your favorite digital music purveyor…” Twitter. https://twitter.com/theohhellos/status/961988567659560962
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Margolis, L. (2020, October 16). The Oh Hellos Examine What’s Blowin’ in the Wind. American Songwriter. https://americansongwriter.com/the-oh-hellos-examine-whats-blowin-in-the-wind/
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 The Oh Hellos. (2020, August 11) “8.21.20.” Twitter. https://twitter.com/theohhellos/status/1293222642259038209
10. ↑ @saoirsetoad. (2020, August 12) “HOLD ON” Twitter. https://mobile.twitter.com/saoirsetoad/status/1293452522204602368
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Oh Hellos. (2020, August 21) “The series continues on September 4th. The title single for our third…” Twitter. https://twitter.com/theohhellos/status/1296824188829872129
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Boreas. (2020, August 21). The Oh Hellos. https://music.theohhellos.com/album/boreas
13. ↑ The Oh Hellos. (2020, September 4) “Snow-blanketed darkness. Candlelight behind cupped hands…” Twitter. https://twitter.com/theohhellos/status/1301914424740122625
14. ↑ Boreas. The Oh Hellos. https://open.spotify.com/album/6EKnCoXCSrtGgzUiDIAE27?si=wbLUvkH6Si2IhVLZQduVrA&dl\_branch=1