On the 2023 bingo board, not many were expecting the reunion of what is arguably the most compelling supergroup of today. Boygenius has been lying dormant since 2018, following the release of their self-titled debut EP, and fans have been waiting with bated breath for the return of their favorite all-female band.
That return came this January with three new singles teasing their debut album, the record. Each single is guided by one primary member, and Julian Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus’ influences are mostly confined to their respective songs. Baker’s masterful instrumentals, Bridgers’s signature crooning and Dacus’s soulful lyricism pierce a heart-shaped hole through the singles.
The release is set into motion with Baker’s primary song, “$20.” The track features the artist’s classic rigid and choppy guitar with vocals that seem to skate and glide atop increasingly revelationary instrumentation. Her lyrics wrestle against the all-consuming need to self-destruct, to disappear into nothing. The track grows more all-consuming as the feelings become practically inescapable. Dacus starts monotonously chanting “There’s only so much I can–,” it’s getting intense and Bridgers assists with the final blow: cathartic screaming that brings the song to a sense of finality before breaking off into silence.
Following such an intense track comes Bridgers doing what she does best: melancholic haunting. “Emily I’m Sorry” does just that. Originally written just after releasing her second effort Punisher– it feels like a bonus track With her trademark muted guitar and muffled percussion finding a home on the single. Bridgers apologizes in hushed tones to her ex-girlfriend, Emily Bannon, while using very Punisher-esque imagery and themes. She washes over listeners with soft and unsuspecting vocals describing dreams of falling “straight for the concrete / In a nightmare, screaming.” The serenity in this track is not enough to distract from the fact that out of the three singles, this is the least integrated with the styles of Dacus and Baker, which just feels like a big missed opportunity.
To conclude the release is Dacus with “True Blue,” a perfect final goodbye, yet an invitation for listeners to wait patiently by the door to be let in soon again. Her chord progressions soak the song in soft affection as her lyrics snowball small moments into an emotional revelation, with Dacus declaring, “it feels good to be known so well.” It feels like a familiar hug from Dacus, with the instrumentation on the track mirroring her latest album Home Video. However, that familiarity pushes the track into the same pitfalls as “Emily I’m Sorry” and leaves a feeling that, creatively, there should be something more.
Looking forward, the trio has set the stage for their most electrifying project to date. Their interview with Rolling Stone details tracks on the upcoming record that rival the intensity of “Me & My Dog,” one of boygenius’ most popular songs. Sarah Tuzdin, a producer on the album, recounts how the artists are “color[ing] outside the lines” for this project. These singles pave the way for an album that ensures a broader range of sound compared to the EP; it is only a question of whether or not the supergroup will be able to incorporate all of their sounds and strengths into each track. Nevertheless, “$20” masterfully finds the band’s pulse, and one can only hope there is more where that came from.
Their LP the record is set to release on March 31, 2023.
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