Released in 2018, boygenius’s previous musical effort was a self-titled EP. Photo courtesy of Pitchfork.
As made clear in their Nirvana-inspired cover shoot with
Rolling Stone
, boygenius wants the world to know they are a force to be reckoned with. The group consists of indie it-girls Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. The group released an EP in 2018 after coming together through playing various shows and opening for similar artists over the years. The initial EP, which consisted of six songs, was met with much critical acclaim, earning a coveted 8.3 rating from
Pitchfork
. After years of fans asking for the group to release more music, and each artist releasing a solo album in the time since, boygenius has returned stronger than ever with their first full-length album,
the record
.
The album begins with an eerie three-part harmony song with no instrumentals, “Without You Without Them.” This opening reminds listeners what they are about to embark on: the collaboration of three powerhouses, each established musicians in their own right. Lucy Dacus’s voice sticks out in a beautiful way in this track, letting her shine in a way she does not through the rest of the album, with her focusing tracks being the more mellow songs (“True Blue,” “Leonard Cohen”) compared to Bridgers’s and Baker’s.
The second, third and fourth songs on the album each branch off from the opening track by allowing each artist to showcase their signature style. Julien Baker takes the lead on “$20” with a strong drum beat and guitar riff that follows her work throughout
the record
. “Emily I’m Sorry” is a Phoebe Bridgers classic: a story song about a girl that is similar to “Graceland Too” off Bridgers’s second solo album,
Punisher
. “True Blue” feels like it was pulled directly from Lucy Dacus’s sophomore album
Home Video
as she steps into the shoes of a girl she’s seemingly known for years, similar to her solo tracks “Christine” and “Brando.”
The fourth song on the album is a gut-wrenching song about a relationship that draws in talent from all three artists, allotting them each a chunk of the lyrics to sing. In the song’s bridge, Bridgers sings the haunting lyric “Once, I took your medication to know what it’s like / And now I have to act like I can’t read your mind.” The line captures what many struggle with in a seemingly impossible challenge to understand a loved one dealing with mental illness.
In a drastic shift in mood, the album then moves to the upbeat song “Not Strong Enough.” This song uses a technique often used by the group’s members, featuring a happy-seeming beat with melancholy lyrics that don’t seem like they would go together but somehow do. The drums and guitar featured in this song are reminiscent of those in “$20,” no doubt the work of Julien Baker, who takes the lead on this record in a way she did not in the group’s first EP.
The middle of the album gives each artist another chance to show off their style, with Bridgers’s “Revolution 0,” Dacus’s “Lenoard Cohen” and Baker’s “Satanist.” Though the album is incredibly strong, the few opening and closing tracks definitely stand out the most.
The album ends in a beautiful manner not often attempted by artists, with “Letter To An Old Poet.” In this song, Bridgers takes the lead, and seemingly is speaking to herself, literally bringing in pieces of this “old poet” by sampling the song from the group’s EP, “Me and My Dog.” In “Me and My Dog,” Bridgers sings, “I wanna be emaciated,” which she then echoes in “Letter To An Old Poet” by singing, “I wanna be happy,” showing how she has grown as both an artist and a person, now looking for something so different than she was in 2018 when the EP was released.
Though we do not know if the trio will release another full length album in the future, the group is set to go on a nation-wide tour this summer, and will no doubt continue to do amazing things in their solo careers.