The Oh Hellos - Boreas / Zephyrus

Between 2019 and 2021 the Oh Hellos released four EPs, one for each of the cardinal winds, and this record collects the final two. Boreas is the north wind and the winter record. Zephyrus is the west wind and the thaw. Together they close out one of the more quietly ambitious concept projects in modern American folk.

Tyler and Maggie Heath have always built their arrangements around massed voices and acoustic momentum, and the Boreas side leans into cold and space: "A Kindling, of Sorts" opens with candlelit restraint, "Lapis Lazuli" and "Glowing" build slowly out of it, and the title track sits at the frozen center. The Zephyrus side answers in kind. "Rio Grande" and "Theseus" surge forward, "Soap" and "Rounds" bring the group vocal choir back in full force, and the whole thing resolves rather than simply stopping. Group vocals come courtesy of the band's extended live family, including Amber Reed, Austin Morrow, and Asa Martin.

The Heaths released it themselves, no label involved, which is fitting for a project this personal. It plays like the last two chapters of a book you did not realize you had been reading.

This self released pressing puts both EPs on a single 12 inch. A small run from a band that has never done things the easy way.