Hillsboro - HILLSBORO (2023) Hi-Res

Where most bedroom recorded albums rely on gentle sentiments and lofi charm, HILLSBORO rejects this for unashamed maximalism. The album embraces the melodrama of 90’s emo and grungy pop, carving out a space for a band that thrives on extremes.

Over the course of a turbulent three years, frontman Nima Walker would assemble a growing collection of journal entries and drum machine-laden demos, the second of which were auditioned to the band in various configurations. The ones that stuck had nonsense melodies sung over them while the group developed an arrangement. The entire album was recorded instrumentally before cut-up lyrics were finally decided. Sonically the band functions as a tight unit, doing away with traditional guitar heroics in favor of ethereal fiddle melodies. This concise composition leaves room for Walker and drummer Oliver Holingshead’s textured production to envelop their recordings.

Hillsboro’s widescreen DIY approach is an outlier against both indie apathy and sanitized pop-rock. The collective is committed to developing their world to the greatest extent possible, on their own terms. The quality of their recordings matches those of veteran counterparts, and every part of their visual presentation is made to establish a new corner of both their identity and capacity.

In February of 2023 Hillsboro began releasing a series of music videos directed by Walker and executed by the band. Their fifth offering ‘Dissolve’, is their most mood-driven to date. The video blends elements of early shoegaze and y2k games like Silent Hill.