I’ve been a huge fan of the boygenius members since before they joined forces, but they created magic together with their first EP, boygenius. When they announced their debut album, I almost dropped my phone in excitement. I wanted to take some time to listen to this album before publicly stating which ones were the best. Let me make it clear that this is a NO SKIP album, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have favorites.
5. “$20”
This song was one of three they released as a sneak peak to the album. I picked this one for the list over the other two (and don’t get me wrong, it was very difficult) because of the lyrics. I think it’s really interesting that there’s never a distinct chorus and the creativity behind having different lines/lyrics in every section every time. The opening line, “It’s a bad idea and I’m all about it” is the perfect line to draw listeners into the story.
4. “Letter To An Old Poet”
This song is one of the slower on the album, but I’m a sucker for a sad song. “Letter To An Old Poet” has similar melodic lines as the group’s song, “Me & My Dog.” This was one of the EP’s biggest hits, and for good reason. “Letter To An Old Poet” even refers to the dog again saying, “And remember my dog when I see the full moon”.
3. “Anti-Curse”
This song is on this list for several reasons. First, like the previous pick, it includes a pretty heavy call back. This track refers to one of my favorite songs on the boygenius’ EP, “Salt in the Wound”. The melody is really similar in places, but the lyrics “salt in my lungs” brings to mind their previous project, but increases the severity. Instead of being just in the wound, the pain has spread to the inside of their body. The song also holds tension to the perfect release at the end of the song.
2. “Cool About It”
“Cool About It” is a simplistic song that is painfully accurate about the struggles of having a crush on someone. Maybe it’s this high on my list because I’m experiencing something similar, but it’s also just a great song. The lyricism is simplistic in the way that it tells the listener exactly what the song is about without outright saying it. When they all sing, “Wishin’ you were kind enough to be cruel about it / Tellin’ myself I can always do without it / Knowin’ that it probably isn’t true”, it creates a great peak tension as they hold out notes in harmony .
1. “Not Strong Enough”
Though my favorite track from this album has changed several times, “Not Strong Enough” has stayed in that position the longest. The song starts off strong with lyrics, “Black hole opened in the kitchen”, accompanied by a really interesting drum rhythm that immediately draws me into the song. The whole song is alluring to me as a listener and they do a great job of creating moments of intensity throughout.