In 2018, before we got “Punisher,” “Little Oblivions” or “Home Video” the folk-pop powerhouse that is boygenius, released their self-titled EP, and the world shifted slightly from its axis. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that dramatic, but for many fans of the solo works of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, the trio’s collaboration was an eye-opener to the power of collaboration and friendship within the world of music creation. As such, expectations were high for their debut album “The Record” which dropped last Friday. The group not only met those expectations and confirmed their standing as some of the greatest acts of the past decade, but exceeded them and took listeners to new destinations.
Inviting listeners into the nest of vulnerability and jarring honesty that the trio exposes on the album, it begins with a fully acapella track that gets to the core of the project from the very start. A roomy sound is left in the production of the title track “Without You Without Them” to bring the listeners into the room with the members as if sitting around the campfire with them as friends, hearing them tell stories and sing campfire songs.
“I want you to hear my story, and be a part of it,” Dacus sings, addressing her friends that sing soft harmonies in the background of the track, laying the ground for the free-flowing conversation between the friends that follow on the remainder of the LP. With the stripped-down opening and gut-wrenching lyrics, listeners are immediately gripped, eager for the next track, and the next, and the next.
A powerful juxtaposition from the title track, “$20,” one of the singles off of the album, presents the grit and edge of the band, spearheaded by Julien Baker’s driving power chords. The bursts of harmonization on the track drive home the group’s unparalleled ability to fit each other’s voices together like pieces of a puzzle. Although the least lyrically stunning on the album, the lyrics still stick in your brain and paint landscapes of stories that can be viewed as you listen to them, which, for being the least impressive, sets the bar incredibly high.
The album follows with other singles “Emily I’m Sorry” and “True Blue,” two tracks that cut deep lyrically and further prove that these three artists produce their best work when it’s done in collaboration with one another. “Emily I’m Sorry” is very obviously a Phoebe Bridgers’ song which at face value makes it good on the basis of Bridger’s icy vocals and jarringly blunt lyrics, but paired with the bursts of lush harmonies from the other two members, the song comes to life in full vibrance.
“True Blue” on the other hand, sung by Dacus, feels reminiscent of its vocalist’s previous music. The lyrics are simple, but in a way that makes them relatable and honest as opposed to cliche. Dacus gets at universal experiences of being in a long-term friendship and the crushing truths of an unbreakable bond like the one that she has with her bandmates. The key changes throughout the song provide an empowering poppiness that is signature to Dacus’ sound as well as a crushing depth as her vocals enter a new realm of tonality.
The album moves away from the singles for the track “Cool About It” characterized by finger-picking guitar style and stand-alone verses from each member, showcasing the twang in Baker’s vocals, the warm timbre of Dacus’ and the rawness of Bridgers’. Reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel, this track provides an acoustic comfort while also exhibiting the sheer beauty of the pairing of each artist’s vocals.
From this point in the album forward, it has its highest highs and its still-pretty-high lows. The next track, “Not Strong Enough” is, ironically, one of the strongest songs on the album. With a catchy chorus and fluid chord progressions, the song displays the group’s ability to branch out of their folky comfort zones and write a catchy pop song that transcends the limits of what pop can sound like, adding their own folk and alternative flare.
The album transitions back into a slower-paced song, characteristic of Bridger’s solo music, with “Revolution 0.” Although it felt lackluster musically, the lyrics were intriguing and blunt in Bridgers-esque fashion with lines like, “I just wanna know who broke your nose, figure out where they live so I can kick their teeth in.”
“Leonard Cohen” follows, and while this song is also slowed in tempo and simplistic in style, like “Revolution 0” it is heartfelt and thought-provoking, letting the lyrics lead the way. Dacus’s sheer intelligence and humor shine through in the lines, “Leonard Cohen once said, ‘there’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in,’ and I am not an old man having an existential crisis at a Buddhist monastery writing horny poetry but I agree.”
Another power chord anthem, the album comes nearer to its end with “Satanist,” another catchy rock-influenced track that adds to the edge of the album and breaks up the varied tempos on the record’s entirety. Next comes “We’re In Love” and “Anti-Curse,” two moving pieces, but comparably dragging after the sheer power and catchiness of “Satanist.” That is not to say though that the group’s lyrical abilities failed to shine through in the slower-paced tracks. On this album, every track has some lyrical revelation; no matter how simple of a statement they are making, the folk-pop powerhouses demonstrate insight and vulnerability without pretension. This album is a testament to the truth that Dacus, Bridgers and Baker are the Bob Dylans of our time, and they are even more powerful when paired together.
The album ties up the cohesive project with “Letter to an Old Poet” a call back lyrically and melodically to their song “Me and My Dog.” For fans of the group, the parallels pull at the heartstrings, but even to those new to boygenius or the artists that make up the trio, the song’s profound lyrics and chilling melody are undeniably moving, attested by the chills that perk up on my arms each time I listen to it.
It’s no revelation that each member of Boygenius deserves the hype that they have been receiving in recent years. On “The Record” each one of their unique flares shines through, presenting a fun scavenger hunt of their respective contributions to the final project. And at the end of it all, the album is a cohesive work that meets the mark of impressive musicality and delivers a heart-wrenching and brutally honest collection of songs.
