The Daily Spin, January 18
The Oh Hellos | Boreas
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here.
If you want to suggest an album, good news! You can do so right here!
Album: Boreas (2020)
Artist: The Oh Hellos
Link:
The third of four albums in a series touching the four winds, Boreas evokes exactly what you may expect from a black-covered album with a hibernating bear emblazoned front and center - and while it does not evoke the happy twinkling of winter, it does very much bring to mind the hardened faces of those who have weathered many seasons in the brutal cold - and I like that.
For what the Oh Hellos do, it’s a perfect vein to strike - rather than hit towards pleasantries of the holidays, they cut a tale of a much more bitter wind, one that evokes imagery of hunters and wartime rather than skaters on a glacial pond.
It, too, evokes imagery of growth throughout, telling a story that serves a delightful reminder that, painful as it may be, the winter wind brings with it an opportunity for positive change hidden in the harshness. It’s a reminder that I find myself needing sometimes, especially in these cooler months, and emphasizes my pleasure with the direction in which they took this album.
Rating: 7.7/10
Best Tracks: Cold; Glowing
Worst Tracks: Rose