Mar 30

Mar 30 boygenius - the record

boygenius
the record
Release Date: March 31st, 2023
Label: Interscope

Review by Jared Stossel

I was on vacation in England when I received an email alerting me to my review copy of the record, the highly anticipated debut album from boygenius, a trio comprised of songwriter extraordinaires Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. The group composed, released, and toured on a sole EP back in 2018, to acclaim from both fans and critics. The singer-songwriters went their separate ways to release their own magnum opuses, the passage of time leading to an eventual reunion of the minds in June 2020, where the record's roots began to settle into the Earth.

Time has been a friend to boygenius. While refining their own respective skills as songwriters over the last several years, they’ve come together and created one of the most hauntingly beautiful debut albums of the past decade. The scars of pain, heartbreak, existential crisis, and friendship are prevalent throughout the twelve songs that make up the record. It’s clear from pressing play on the first track “Without You Without Them”, a graceful a capella introduction about the continuation of time, that you’re about to hear something special. The three-part harmonies fill the entire soundscape.

What’s fascinating about Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus is that despite how soft-spoken they are in their vocal performances, their word usage and delivery always manage to cut straight through your heart and remind you about what it feels to be human. All three performers command your attention throughout the forty-minute debut, whether they’re singing about the intricacies of exploring religion (“Satanist”), the ever-changing nature of truth and personal growth (“True Blue”), or falling in love (“Anti-Curse”).

There are many exemplary sections of the record; while each song stands out on its own, I found it best to listen to it all at once. Getting lost in this trio’s words is an adventure that one must be ready for; these songs can break you down and make you feel whole again, sometimes all in the same breath. The absolute standout moment on the record is “We’re In Love”, a devastatingly beautiful love song that has nearly brought me to tears every time I’ve heard it over this past week. It’s one of the best ballads of its kind, and it is guaranteed to make audiences weep collectively during both boygenius performances and Dacus’ own shows.

One of the songs on the record is titled “Leonard Cohen”, written by Dacus about the time that the three members of the group ended up extending a Northern California road trip and missing the exits because of their enthrallment with Iron & Wine’s “Trapeze Swinger”, a ten-minute song touching on the idea of how you want to be remembered long after you’ve left this world. It begged the question of whether or not it was actually a detour, or truly just part of the journey that they were on together.

I unexpectedly woke up with this album in my inbox and pushed it to the top of my review list. I listened to it several times while walking through a cold and rainy Windermere (yes, Taylor Swift fans; that Windermere and those lakes). I did not expect to be doing this during my first vacation in nearly four years. But it begs the question: was listening to the record while looking at the Windermere peaks a distraction from my vacation? Or was it actually the trip where I got to listen to the boygenius debut before anyone while looking out at one of the most scenically arresting locations in all of Europe? I’m gonna go with the latter.