Album Review: the record by boygenius
Indie-rock supergroup boygenius (Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker), have made a spectacular return with their debut album, the record, following the release of their self-titled 2018 EP. With each member already a phenomenal, established artist in their own right, boygenius combines the best parts of each of them into one giant collection of amazing music.
“Without You Without Them” opens the album with a haunting three-part acapella performance. Described in an interview with them as “a love letter to the mortifying ordeal of being known”, and featuring beautiful stacking harmonies, the track feels like the opening to a retro television show. The song has a similar vibe to ‘Ketchum, ID’ off of the group’s debut EP and is similarly forlorn and melancholy.
Tracks “$20,” “Emily, I’m Sorry,” and “True Blue”’ were released simultaneously on January 18th, accompanying the album announcement.
Standing in stark contrast to the opener, “$20” is a rocking track headed by Baker that sounds like it belongs as the opening to a killer coming-of-age movie. Expressive percussion and impactful guitar riffs make the listener want to let loose, and gives the song a carefree feeling. This feeling is amplified with lyrics such as “It’s a bad idea and I’m all about it” and “To the T-bird graveyard where we play with fire,” before punctuating the verse with the bold statement: “in another life, we were arsonists.” The final chorus has the three members each singing a line in a round, which builds to Bridgers letting loose, screaming, “Can you give me twenty dollars?” – a delivery reminiscent of the end of her 2020 hit “I Know The End.”
“Emily, I’m Sorry” sparked the reformation of boygenius, with Bridgers sending it to Dacus and Baker with the message “Can we be a band again?” A solemn track that pays homage to Bridgers’ discography and musical style, “Emily, I’m Sorry” features haunting harmonies that instantly hook the audience. The song describes a relationship with a person who looks fine from the outside, but internally is battling conflict as a result of the narrator’s actions and insecurities as Bridgers sings, “She’s asleep in the backseat, Looking peaceful enough to me / But she’s wakin’ up inside a dream, full of screeching tires and fire”. Moving swiftly into verse two, she sings “Now I’m wide awake, spiraling / And you don’t wanna talk”, further elaborating on the internal conflict that the narrator feels.
Led by Dacus, “True Blue” explores the idea of discovering yourself through both love and major life changes. Dacus sings “When you moved to Chicago, you were spinnin’ out / When you don’t know who you are, you fuck around and find out”. Moving through the song with folk-style guitars, the trio elaborate on this idea while adding themes of the gratification that comes with deep, personal connections to those you love (“It feels good to be known so well, I can’t hide from you like I hide from myself / Your love is tough, your love is tried and true-blue”).
“Cool About It” takes the listener through a decaying relationship, with each member of the band getting a verse detailing a different perspective of events leading to the ultimate downfall of the relationship. A relatively stripped down track (focusing on the light, delicate guitar line and the soulful vocals from each individual member), “Cool About It” tugs at the heartstrings with lyrics such as “I can walk you home and practice method acting / I’ll pretend bein’ with you doesn’t feel like drowning.”
“Not Strong Enough” was released as a single on March 1st. One of the most sonically communal tracks of the album, it tackles different ideas of self-hatred and feeling like you are not good enough (or strong enough) in different aspects of your life. Each member explores this idea with their own individual chorus that follows the same theme. Dacus’ for example, comes in after a haunting bridge in which the trio repeats the sentiment “Always an angel, never a god”, as she belts “I don’t know why I am the way I am / There’s something in the static / I think I’ve been having revelations.”
“Revolution 0” is a delicate track led by Bridgers. Reminiscent of Punisher, her solo album released in 2020, the group explained in an interview with Rolling Stone that the song is “about Bridgers ‘falling in love online’”. The trio comes together for the chorus, creating beautiful harmonies that add to the melancholic vibe of the track. With a primarily instrumental bridge, the song builds to a triumphant end before fading out.
Short but sweet (coming in at just under 2 minutes), “Leonard Cohen” is a love letter to pure platonic connection and the vulnerability that accompanies it. Beginning with lyrics about an anecdote that the group told Rolling Stone in their cover article, in which Bridgers made the other members of Boygenius listen to Iron and Wine’s “The Trapeze Swinger,” during which she became so focused on it that she lost track of where she was going. Detailing this interaction, Dacus sings, “You felt like an idiot adding an hour to the drive / but it gave us more time to embarrass ourselves / tellin’ stories we wouldn’t tell anyone else / you said, ‘I might like you less now that you know me so well.’”
A pure, upbeat track, “Satanist” begins with a powerful combination of harsh guitar lines and bold drums. Initially led by Baker before transitioning to Bridgers, the track details a sort of reckless but cathartic rebellion and abandonment, through lyrics such as “Spray paint my initials on an ATM / I burn my cash and smash my old TV” and “Will you be a nihilist with me? / If nothin’ matters, man, that’s a relief.” An instrumental break towards the end oozes into a lovely controlled chaos before the group comes together for a slow, wistful outro.
‘We’re In Love’ is a slow, mournful track composed of Dacus accompanied by a light, acoustic guitar line. An ode to the beautiful, platonic relationship that the trio shares and featuring lyrics like “You could absolutely break my heart / That’s how I know that we’re in love“ and “If you rewrite your life, may I still play a part?”, it is impossible to not feel moved to tears listening.
“Anti-Curse” features a moving intro characterized by a steady bass kick and beautifully blended guitar chords. With powerful, impactful vocals led by Baker (particularly as the song gets into the chorus), this track details a particular incident Baker had at a beach while on a writing trip with a type of wistful, nostalgic feeling that is all too familiar when it comes to boygenius’ music. “Anti-Curse” recalls “Salt in the Wound,” off of their first EP, with the lyric “Salt in my lungs” as well as a melody from Bridgers’ “Savior Complex.”
Immediately following “Anti-Curse,” “Letter To An Old Poet” opens with Bridgers accompanied by a simple backing piano. Somber and melancholy with all of the gorgeous harmonies that have made this album the masterpiece that it is, the song is described in an interview with them magazine as being the result of counseling that the group did in anticipation for the album release. Interpolating “Me & My Dog,” off of their self-titled EP, the group sings “I wanna be happy / I’m ready to walk into my room without lookin’ for you / I’ll go up to the top of our building / And remember my dog when I see the full moon,” alluding to the lyrics to the bridge of ‘Me & My Dog’; “I wanna be emaciated / I wanna hear one song without thinking of you / I wish I was on a spaceship / Just me and my dog and an impossible view.” The track also interpolates the crowd from the ending of a show that they played at Brooklyn Steel, something that they all decided was a moment that was special to them.
The members of Boygenius work so perfectly together as a supergroup because they are able to blend each of their individual styles together to create something that still feels cohesive and put together, all while tripling the emotional intensity of their work. the record is a prime example of that and leaves listeners wanting more from this exceptional group.
Boygenius is Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, and Phoebe Bridgers.
