What It's Like to Go Through a Breakup in 14 Minutes: A Review of Sienna Spiro's Die on This Hill
Die On This Hill, the four-track, 14-minute-long EP by Sienna Spiro, should be listened to in the car alone while it’s dark and raining. Or in your childhood bedroom with your face in a pillow and wired headphones in. Or in the shower. The record carries a specific sadness that makes everything else disappear, forcing you to scream along to the lyrics as your heart is ripped from your chest, but in the best way possible. These songs don’t just describe heartbreak: they sit in the uncomfortable feeling of caring more for someone than they do you, and knowing there’s nothing you can do to change that.
Spiro’s title track blew up on TikTok in 2025, as she posted videos of her singing snippets of the song in her room with her keyboard. Part of the beauty of this record is its making, and Spiro had fans on TikTok wanting more, begging for her to release “Die On This Hill” and other songs so that the world could stream on repeat. This led to a quick rise to fame for the 20-year-old Spiro and the official release of the record later that year, even landing her a performance on Jimmy Fallon.
In the viral song, Spiro sings “I’ll be here ‘cause I care / Yeah, I know you don’t care / I know nothing could matter / God, I wish something mattered to you.” The lyrics are simple, which is exactly why they hurt. There’s no confusing phrasing or metaphors, just the blunt reality of having your heart broken. Her raw voice, paired with the piano and some strings, is the tearjerker formula. She doesn’t oversing or dramatize the pain, letting the feeling speak for itself, which makes it all the more devastating.
This same feeling carries into the next song, “MAYBE.” Spiro sings, “But now I’m feeling jaded / I thought I was your favorite / I believed in you for so long.” This captures something so human, the gut punch feeling of being let down by the one person you trusted the most. In “You Stole The Show,” the third track, she sings, “I ask if you love me / and you just shrug your shoulders.” Shivers. The pain she describes is specific, but the emotion is universal.
However, the last track on the record, “Dream Police,” shifts away from the breakup ballad to something closer to lust. The EP feels complete without it, and it’s the only song out of the four that this listener hasn’t saved to her Liked Songs on Spotify. Unless lust is part of breaking up for you, a way of moving on, the track is a little bit out of place.
Still, this doesn’t diminish the beauty of the record and Spiro’s voice. It’s a rich blend of Adele’s power with hints of Amy Winehouse’s vocal fry, the kind of voice that is meant to sing beautiful ballads. The kind of voice you listen to when lying awake at night, when you really should be asleep. Or the kind you listen to on a long train ride to your parents’ place. Die On This Hill isn’t just music for distraction. It’s music for feeling. For remembering.
