2. the record.
a review of the boygenius full-length album ‘the record’.
The long awaited debut album from boygenius (Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus) was released on friday and here are my thoughts. In short: wow.
Tackling themes of self-discovery, not liking who you are, and arguing with people you love about stupid shit, ‘the record’ is brutally hard hitting but equally comforting. One might think combining Bridgers, Baker and Dacus might be sonically and musically conflicting, but it is obvious that making music with your best friends, combining the ‘sad indie girl’ genres works perfectly. From the outset, ‘Without You Without Them’ displays their gorgeous vocals fitting together magically in harmony.
Previously released single ‘€20’ is one side of boygenius, displaying heavier guitars and more intense vocals. It reminded me of the fleeting moments of childhood, shown in ‘the film’ where each band member has a mini version of them. “In another life, we were arsonists” is printed in the zine accompanying the vinyl releases, and makes you think about what could have been if things had been different when you were younger. “When you wake up I’ll be gone again” is one of the most memorable lyrics from ‘the record’ for me - partly because of its delivery, but also because it resonates with my discomfort of being in one place for too long and a need to get out of there.
‘Emily I’m Sorry’ being halfway down in my ranking of the album shows how strong every track is, because it’s hauntingly beautiful. I’m well acquainted with the feeling of fucking things up because I don’t know who I am (mostly past tense, but still working on it). I think a good song will make you feel like you’re in the situation the lyrics speak of, and this track does exactly that.
‘True Blue’ - my favourite song on the album. It makes me feel a deep sense of nostalgia every time I’ve listened to it, as if I should be in a movie, on a train making a big life decision (currently me, except the life decision was dyeing my hair bright orange, so I’m not sure if that counts. I guess when you don’t know who you are you really do fuck around and find out). “I can’t hide from you like I hide from myself” captures a deep level of intimacy that I think can only be experienced by close friendship, exactly like that between the band.
‘Not Strong Enough’ is another favourite for me - not being good enough for someone because you can’t find it in you to be enough for yourself. I love a good climatic ending and the simplistic lyric of “I don’t know why I am the way I am” is something I know I certainly do, and imagine many other people, frequently ask themselves when they can’t be present and show up, even when they want something badly.
The lyrics of ‘Revolution 0’ actually destroyed me, honestly. I think lyrics which can be interpreted by a listener to mean something entirely different to what was meant, or to apply them to a different situation, is a beautiful thing about music. “I don’t wanna die, that’s a lie / Wish I wasn’t so tired, but I’m tired” are frequent thoughts running through my head regarding my experiences with my mental health and chronic fatigue. I can physically feel these lyrics in my bones it almost hurts.
As a fan of Phoebe’s solo music, and ‘I Know the End’ being one of my favourite songs by her, I can always appreciate a good screaming moment like there is in ‘Satanist’. I also really love the repetitiveness of the song and the structure it gives it. It makes the things mentioned - satanism, anarchism and nihilism - sound incredibly fun (not that I needed THAT much convincing).
While sonically my least favourite track on the album, ‘We’re In Love’ is a love letter from Lucy to Phoebe and Julien. Their friendship is something a person can only wish for - the closeness, the forgiveness, the sheer sense of love.
Last but definitely not least is ‘Letter To An Old Poet’, and well… it officially destroyed me. The entire song is beautiful, especially the lyric “You’re not special, you’re evil”, a heartbreaking realisation that someone you loved isn’t who you thought they were. The final part of the song is so special as a fan of the self-titled EP; the lyrics heavily reference those from ‘Me & My Dog’, but with a much more hopeful, optimistic outlook. It’s a refreshing end to an emotionally intense album, and suggests that things might actually turn out alright, in the end.
‘The film’ is a great accompanying short film, a montage of the first three singles released from the album, ‘$20’, ‘Emily I’m Sorry’ and ‘True Blue’. It helped me really envision the stories being told and brought them to life that bit more. The portrayal of an unconditionally accepting friendship seen through simple actions like sitting on the porch together, painting your apartment, setting shit on fire and holding out a match to be lit. They’re all little things, but you can see that the friendship between the three is sincere and heartfelt.
Lastly, it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t sneak some vinyl talk in, so here it is. The silver variant I ordered hasn’t arrived yet, but I have the HMV exclusive orange, Rough Trade exclusive beige swirl and Spotify Fans First custard swirl variants. They are all so gorgeous, although my ‘beige swirl’ copy is entirely pink - it’s stunning, and I’m lucky because I haven’t seen any other copies as pink as mine - it’s just annoying as the mockup was so pretty!
Ranking:
True Blue
Letter To An Old Poet
Not Strong Enough
$20
Revolution 0
Satanist
Emily I’m Sorry
Anti-Curse
Without You Without Them
Leonard Cohen
Cool About It
We’re In Love
Rating: 4.5/5
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