Boygenius released their debut album, “the record,” last Friday, blowing the high expectations out of the water. Comprised of three independently successful musicians, Lucy Dacus, Julian Baker, and Phoebe Bridgers, boygenuis is a talent powerhouse. Tender yet intense, passionate, and soul crushingly vulnerable, it encapsulates the entire spectrum of human emotion in 12 songs. Centered around their platonic love for each other, the record is a love letter to the friends that know and love us better than anyone else ever could.
The album’s main lyrical theme is deep, unconditional love. It’s so pure it could be mistaken for external romantic relationships. While there are some obvious references to relationships outside the band, the songs are largely odes to each other.
Right off the bat, the intro track “Without you Without Them,” is about being fundamentally changed by knowing and loving another person. They sing harmony a cappella and appreciate the ancestors that made their loved ones. The line between the outside world and the internal self is blurred here. I would not be who I am if I didn’t know you. In a sense you have created me. So much of who we are is who we love.
Already fans of each other’s work, the group blossomed from a foundation of real friendship. Working in a male dominated industry, they initially bonded over the frustration of being compared and reduced to simplification. The group formed when the three of them toured together in 2018 and wanted something to perform together. They set out to record a cover or single but came out with a critically acclaimed six song EP instead. A play on the tortured male genius archetype, the name “boygenius,” also reveals their creative process. Every idea is seized with the same fanatic energy reserved for gifted boys. Creating together is sacred; none of them have to defend their ideas or prove themselves. There is no frontman, each member is celebrated in all her individual glory.
The instrumentation seamlessly weaves together different styles, going from soft indie to hard rock and back again with a sprinkle of folksy elements. Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus all reside in the indie music realm but have created their own unique voices over the past decade in their individual careers. All of their best bits combine on “the record.” Dacus’s tranquil vocals pierce the heart. Her delicate voice sounds like forgiveness. Baker rips it on the guitar, adding a hard rock sound to tracks “$20” and “Satanist.” This sense of frenzy deepens the emotional impact of the whole album. Bridgers brings both her soft, angelic voice and wild, unrelenting scream. Each member’s hand is evident in each song; everything is collaboration.
The contrast of the lyrical cohesion and varied instrumentation proves that this committed love exists everywhere. “Satanist” and “We’re in Love,” the ninth and tenth tracks, exemplify this juxtaposition perfectly. “Satanist” asks if someone will love them till the end. Would you sell your soul and go to jail with me? “We’re in Love” immediately answers a resounding yes, I will love you no matter what. I will always long to know you. It tentatively asks, will you allow me to follow you around for the rest of this life, and the next one? Choosing someone and hoping, praying, wishing, they choose you back is presented as the horrifying reality we all know. Everyone must choose, daily, whether or not to be brave and open themselves to the world. It is so honest it hurts. I can’t listen to it all the way through without crying at least once.
However, this vulnerability is worth it. The reward of tender loving kindness oozes from every corner of “the record.” Love sustains us through all the hardships of life. It is our haven from the hollowing wind. The final song on the album, “Letter to an Old Poet,” references their 2018 EP. The melody of the line, “I wanna be happy/I’m ready to walk into my room without lookin’ for you” is borrowed from the line, “I wanna be emaciated/I wanna hear one song without thinking of you” from “Me & My Dog.”
Tying the projects together and creating a narrative arc through the past five years is unexpected and perfectly crafted. The friendship between Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus remained through emotional pain. The triumph of “the record” is how evident their heart-wrenching faithfulness to each other is. Boygenius has proved themselves as the living legends we all knew they were.