boygenius: the record - reviewed
The long-awaited debut album from indie supergroup boygenius has dropped, and it does not disappoint - with production credits including Jay Som and Sarah Tudzin (frontwoman of illuminati hotties).
Since their self-titled EP in the fall of 2018, fans have been itching for some new material from the group, and then when their audience finally made peace with the fact that may not happen… the clues started to appear. The Spotify artist profile? The beach photoshoot pictures? The album’s appearance in their Instagram shop? It was confirmed, there would be a boygenius album.
“Without You Without Them” is the equivalent of listening to the Holy Trinity warbling and harmonising a hymn in the Basilica of dreams. It sets the tone of the album, reminding you that boygenius are not just bandmates, they are best friends. Arguably, this is the appeal of the group, their lyrics and inner selves so profound, yet their demeanour around each other so juvenile and tender. “Speak to me, until your history’s no mystery to me” encapsulates blossoming relationships (in any shape or form) perfectly.
The next three tracks (“$20”, “Emily, I’m Sorry”, and “True Blue”) were featured in the short film the group surprise dropped with the album - it's directed by Kristen Stewart and well worth the watch (and for you real film bros, it’s available on Letterboxd). If you’re not yet sold, they all kiss at the end… sold yet? “$20” concentrated on Baker re-living her childhood documented in the lyrics, “Emily, I’m Sorry” bared Bridgers innermost feelings (but with monster trucks), and Dacus led “True Blue” had lots of the colour blue and women kissing (two of my favourite things).
“Cool About It” immediately teleports one to a spacious wheat field in the South of Ireland – under blue skies and that crisp spring air, white linen and lace, and the comfort of your closest confidantes. Heartbroken, but healing.
If “Cool About It” captures that spring feeling, then “Not Strong Enough” is its summer counterpart – I look forward to singing along to this one at the London gig with a beer in each hand and my favourite people by my side. Dacus obliterates sad girls everywhere with: “I don’t know why I am the way I am, there’s something in the static, I think I’ve been having revelations”. Not to mention the subtle dig at the patriarchy with “always an angel, never a god”, and OCD with "half a mind, that keeps the other second guessing".
“Leonard Cohen” is short but sweet, an acoustic ode to unconditional friendships – romantic soulmates are real, but so are platonic ones: “You said I might like you less now that I know you so well, Leonard Cohen once said, ‘there’s a crack in everything that’s how the light gets in’”.
The curtains close with “Letter To An Old Poet” - it looks like darkness in the early evening and candlelight, it feels like warmth on a frosty night, a hug when you’re at your worst, and it tastes like your favourite hot drink. It narrates the journey of rediscovering who you are and knowing your worth, the allusion to “Me and My Dog” (2018) displays Bridger's personal growth and is exemplary to fans worldwide. "I wanna be happy, I'm ready to walk into my room without looking for you, I'll go up to the top of our building, and remember my dog when I see the full moon" vs. "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".
