Heartbreak Hill by Boreen
Heartbreak Hill is the final Boreen album. Morgan O'Sullivan started the project ten years ago, documenting the complexities of life as a young person. He filled out his recordings with a kitchen sink of quotidian samples, toy instruments, and synthesizers. Eventually cajoled into playing live shows by his close friends who later became his band, Boreen played gigs in the Portland diy scene, did some touring around the pacific northwest and released 4 full length records. The recordings have always been a deeply personal and labored over pursuit for O'Sullivan and the fifth and final Boreen album, Heartbreak Hill is no different. At times it sounds like O'Sullivan's DAW is about to explode with countless layers of textural bliss in the form of catchy synthesizer melodies, samples, blown out guitar freak outs, backing vocals and contributions from friends on various instruments. In addition to his intricate arrangements, Morgan also knows when to strip a song down to its most meaningful parts to create a punctual pop song. Lyrically O'Sullivan conjures a wide array of imagery, some beautiful, some ugly. His songs encapsulate a grab bag of the realities that one encounters in life, highlighting the moments of bliss that make the horrors bearable. Lyrics have always been a window into his insular world, whether it is memories of childhood friends, glimpses of the recent past, events overheard on radios, or fictional stories conjured from within. Heartbreak Hill is a wonderful culmination of years of work in songwriting and home recording. One could not find a more perfect capstone for one of the best diy projects of the 2010s-20s.
-Emmet of bud tapes, member of Boreen 2016-2025
Tracklist
| 1. | Acrobat | 3:16 |
| 2. | Don't Die! | 2:54 |
| 3. | I Can Almost Taste It | 3:39 |
| 4. | Heartbreak Hill | 2:45 |
| 5. | Right by You | 2:27 |
| 6. | Remind Me | 2:51 |
| 7. | Highway of Love | 3:31 |
| 8. | Plumsucker | 8:45 |
| 9. | Sleep It Off | 2:58 |
| 10. | Angel in My Mouth | 3:08 |
| 11. | Blue Movies | 3:30 |
| 12. | Lace | 3:21 |
| 13. | Forgotten | 4:05 |
| 14. | Blue Miles | 2:50 |
Credits
Songs written, performed, and recorded by Morgan O’Sullivan between 2022 and 2025 in Portland, Oregon and Oakland, California.
Stevie Driscoll - Drums
Quinn Kennelly - Backup Vocals
Garrett Linck - Drums, Piano
Emmet Martin - Twig
Zack James - Tambourine, Shaker
Drums performed by Stevie Driscoll and recorded by Evan Mersky at Red Lantern Studios, in Portland, Oregon, except for “I Can Almost Taste It”, “Right By You”, and “Plumsucker”, which were performed and recorded by Garret Linck in Morrill, Maine.
Mixed by Morgan O’Sullivan, Master and additional mixing by Garrett Linck
Thank you to Emmet, Stevie, Chris, Jesse, Elias, Asher, Garrett, and Harrison for playing in Boreen over the years. Goodnight, Boreen. I’ll see you in my dreams.
