“The Record” - Boygenius Album Review
Boygenius released its first album, and it’s whimsical and perfect. The artists on this album are Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. This band was formed in 2018 and classifies themselves as “American indie rock.”
Boygenius was formed with the dream of dismantling the stigma around male artists. This was with the hope that they’d be seen as more than obscene and cool. They based their first album around the goal of sparking individuality and honoring friendship.
The band had previously released an EP with six songs in 2018, forming their position in the music industry as a talented different array of music. This EP has the fan favorite song “Me & My Dog,” which inclined fans to remain intrigued with Boygenius for so many years.
The audience for this album is broad, as the three talented females have their own individual fanbases. This album has been highly anticipated, as the artists have configured successful media posts - such as an album film.
The singles for this album were “$20,” “Emily I’m Sorry,” “True Blue and Not Strong Enough.” These singles were included in the Boygenium Film, as each song is specific to one of the three artists. “$20” is related to Julien Baker, “Emily I’m Sorry” is claimed by Phoebe Bridgers and “True Blue” by Lucy Dacus.
The instrumental qualities in this album are very mellow and follow the theme of inspirational and calm. The songs work extremely well together, meshing to form an emotional theme with the select few that are “hard hitting.”
The order of the songs creates cohesion and allows the listeners to listen to the album and soak in the aesthetic. Most songs contain an instrumental moment at the end, increasing the impacts of the lyrics and replayability.
The writing and lyrics for each individual song is special, and the topics discussed throughout the whole album are impactful. The writing is obviously extremely impressive, as the three artists are well experienced and provide different aspects of song writing to the table.
The emotional lyrics also relate to the stories of the three different women, allowing the album to grasp a wide range of audiences. There are specific tie-ins to each artist's personal songs, such as the lyrics “I want to be happy” in “Letters From An Old Poet,” which relates to the song “Me & My Dog,” Bridgers wrote for Boygenius.
The overall album perfectly encapsulates the three women and their own personal audiences. This album is not doing anything crazy or new, but it is producing emotional and meaningful songs. This music is best listened to in melancholy moments in life, such as studying or driving at night.
The artists did exactly what was expected of them, exceeding expectations when they released a film for the album. This film was three music videos that were astonishingly produced. This provided the audience with a movie backstory to the most important songs on the album.
Bridgers, Baker and Dacus provided a connection between them and their listeners that I’ve never heard before. This is uncommon for musicians, so this is wildly impressive for a fairly new group. Boygenius shows that they understand their position in the music industry.
Hopefully future Boygenius albums will have a mixture of songs, some along the vibe as The Record but some that are different and allow for an impact to be made. All listeners should have this album on repeat.
Rating: 7/10 stars
Reviewers favorite songs: “Cool About It,” “Emily I’m Sorry,” “Without You Without Them,” Letters to an Old Poet”
Reviews least favorite songs: “We’re In Love,” “Not Strong Enough,” “$20”
Grace Bowman is a second-year majoring in biology. To contact her, email gab5585@psu.edu.
