The EP by Boygenius called “The Rest” was released on the 13th of last month. The band released a six-song EP called “Boygenius” back in 2018 to promote their tour. Phoebe Bridgers, Lucas, and Julia Baker would be on together after finding out the three of them would be on tour together. Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Ducas, and Julia Baker all have their own careers, so when news broke this year that they would be back together for a full album, there was much excitement online. Rolling Stone had them as the cover with a photo shoot calling back to Nirvana in February before the album came out.
The EP called “The Rest” is four songs that are twelve minutes long. The album starts off with the song “Black Hole”. I personally think this song is the weakest out of the four. The song opens with singer Julia Baker and her vocals are beautiful. Later on in the song, the harmonies are good, but all in all, I think the song falls short. At the beginning of the song, it opens up with the singer talking about how the night is dark, but the stars are out. Although I’m not a huge fan of this song, I really liked the imagery that Boygenius uses in its songs. I can close my eyes and picture exactly what’s going on in most of their songs, and that is what I love about listening to them. Sometimes it’s great to listen to songs and just enjoy the tune or the vocals, but when you listen to a song by one of the members of Boygenius, the lyrics are always well-written. There’s another line towards the end of the song, “My thoughts, noise, fake smiles, decoys, ” which leads me to think the line is about hiding how you actually feel and trying to be okay with something you’re not okay with. I found the lyrics really cryptic and hard to understand in this song. It’s soothing and beautiful like all Boygenius songs but definitely not the strongest song on the EP.
The next song is called, “Afraid of Heights,” which might be my favorite off the EP. The only reason I’m not committing to it being my favorite is because the rest of the songs are honestly so good, and it would feel like a disservice to tie myself down when all of the songs are so well written, with such amazing vocals. The song starts off strong with Lucy Dacus singing. Her voice always catches me off guard. It’s so clear and one of a kind, no one can quite sing like she can, and she harmonizes with Phoebe Bridgers later in the song in a way that would bring a grown man to tears and try to play it off as allergies. But it’s never allergies. It’s Lucy. All the lyrics in this song feel so incredibly beautiful and personal. It’s almost like taking a look into someone’s diary but in song form. There’s a line that starts off with listing things she hasn’t done and says, “I wanna live a vibrant life, but I wanna die a boring death, know I was a disappointment, know you wanted me to take a risk.” To me, it’s about wanting to push the limits for someone you love but also knowing we are disappointing them because we are afraid. The singer sings, “You called me a crybaby, but you’re the one who got teary.” She knows she is disappointing them, and that hurts. This song feels so raw and intimate, not only with the lyrics but with the harmonies between all three members. “Afraid of Heights” is such a visual and one-of-a-kind song that is so ethereal and special; listening to it feels like simultaneously frolicking through a field and also being deeply hurt.
“Voyager,” which comes next, is so calming and ethereal. Listening to it makes me feel like I’m floating. It opens up with the three of them humming together and is sung by Phoebe, with Lucy and Julian singing backup. Their voices blend together like butter melting on a hot piece of bread n in every one of their songs, especially this one. I think this song is about loving someone, either platonic or romantically, with such intensity it almost hurts, thus the melancholy tune of the song. There’s a line of the song that goes, “But I used I used to believe no one could love you like I do and I’m starting to think that it might be impossible not to.” It’s unclear whether this is romantic or not, but either way, it shows a deep love between the singer and the person she is singing about. There is also a call back to the song Cool About It from the album, “The Record” from earlier this year, “There are days spent tangled up together, and sometimes you let me read you’re mind.” Cool About It goes, “Once, I took your medication to know what it’s like and now I have to act like I can’t read your mind I ask you how you’re doing and I let you lie” Maybe these songs are about the same person or about the same idea of loving someone who is struggling so much? It’s hard to be in a situation where you know someone you care about deeply is having a difficult time, and the song reflects this with a gloomy yet angelic feel. This love between them is beautiful yet tragic, and this song absolutely gutwrenching. Listening to it is so beautiful but yet almost painful. Towards the end of the song, we finally get an explanation as to why the song is so said with the line, “Then there are nights you say you don’t remember, when you stepped on the gas, and you asked are you ready to die, you thought I’d never leave, and I let you believe you where right” Although this song only clocks in at one minute and forty-five seconds long it’s like a novel. I’d really love it if the band did an interview explaining the meaning of this song since I feel like there’s such a deep meaning to it. The final line goes, “You took it from me, but I would’ ’ve given it to you” This is the cherry on top of this sob-worthy song. Even though this person is struggling, she still loves them, and she can’t stop herself.
“Powers” is the final song on this EP which wraps up the whole thing amazingly. It is a more upbeat song than “Voyager,” which is a much-needed breath of fresh air compared to that emotional rollercoaster of a song. The vocals are led by Julia Baker. The harmonies in “Powers” are the best of all the harmonies in the EP. They are so gorgeous and don’t distract from the flow of the song at all. I would love to see a music video for this song since it has such a clear storyline. The song opens up with the line, “How did it start? Did I fall into a nuclear reactor?” On the surface, this is a song about some sort of superhero, but knowing the writing experience of Boygenius, I think it’s something deeper. Possibly the feeling of shame. The line, “Or am I simply another of the universe’s failed experiments?”would support this idea. The song eventually builds up to a trumpet part at the end that lasts about a minute and fourteen seconds. This is my favorite part of the song. There are no vocals, just trumpet quiet guitar strumming, then the trumpet ends, and it fades out the guitar strumming. This song feels like it was a very intentional pick to be the last song as it wraps everything together in a rippon with no loose ends.
All in all, I genuinely really enjoyed listening to this EP. I was looking forward to more music from the band after the success of their last album, but I wasn’t expecting to be getting new music so soon. I was unsure of how good it would be since it would be hard to follow how good “the rest” is, but I stand corrected because this EP is really amazing to listen to. The vocals and harmonies are, as always, fabulous, and the songwriting is incredible. Each song feels like a story with so much human emotion as it’s almost like having a deep conversation with a close friend. The lyrics are so personal and raw that it hurts; it truly feels like reading someone’s diary or having a late-night talk with your best friend.
“I’m absolutely obsessed with them, and I listen to them all the time!” -Class of 2027 Skidmore student
References
Kaviya, S. 2023. “Boygenius Black Hole Lyrics Know the Real Meaning of Boygenius Black Hole Song Lyrics .” (October 14,). https://www.fresherslive.com/latest/articles/boygenius-black-hole-lyrics-know-the-real-meaning-of-boygenius-black-hole-song-lyrics-1555196348#google_vignette.
Martoccio and Angie. 2023. “How Boygenius Became the World’s most Exciting Supergroup.” (January 19,). https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/boygenius-julien-baker-phoebe-bridgers-lucy-dacus-the-record-interview-1234660514/#:~:text=Baker%20met%20Bridgers%20a%20month,not%20like%20falling%20in%20love.