Rating: 4/5
The indie band Boygenius surprise-released their EP the rest on Oct. 13th as a follow-up to their debut album the record, released in March.
Boygenius has become a staple in the indie-rock scene, encompassing the most genius, like-minded women in the music industry all in one band, namely Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. While the band has harnessed a cult-like following since their self-titled EP released in 2018, the success of their debut album, the record, signified a colossal magnitude of success and influence in the genre.
Just seven months post-debut release, Boygenius has shared a collection of four songs as part of their EP, the rest. Do not be alarmed, the rest does not fall victim to the B-side album treatment that some bands push for profit’s sake. As described by Phoebe Bridgers in an interview with Zane Lowe:
“These songs don’t belong on the record. To me, the record couldn’t be another way. I think these four, I have no idea where any of them would go in the sequence. They make no sense, but they make so much sense together. It’s really exciting.”
Truer words could not be said. Simply put, the rest differentiates itself from prior work in Boygenius’ catalogue. The feelings provoked while experiencing the album bring to mind the sensation of aimless, quiet walks taken as the sun sets. Even prior to hitting play on the very first song on the EP, the cover artwork translates all the emotional nuances one is about to discover once Julien Baker’s voice paints the beginning of the album in “Black Hole.”
As an opening statement, “Black Hole” puts forward the idea of trusting the unexpected and feeling comfort in the unpredictable. The first verse features Julien Baker singing over an escalating yet melodious combination of poignant synthesizers and guitar strums. In the second verse, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus’ haunting voice performances shine over the sound of muffled drums and guitar strumming. The vocal performances, mixed with the powerful yet muffled instrumentation create a harmonious but charmingly dishevelled track.
One of the star tracks in the EP to keep an eye out for is “Voyager.” Appearing as a slow burn within the track list, “Voyager” emerges as a soft whisper of confusion and agony amidst chaos in a relationship. Boygenius channels this pain through a metaphor of a voyager stepping into the moon yet realizing how dull and “blue” it truly is.
Phoebe Bridgers interprets the main vocals of the song accompanied by humming cadences interpreted by bandmates Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. The tempo is almost conversational in nature, coming off as an intimate poem written by the band. The talkative rhythm in Bridgers’ voice flows in accordance with a looping finger-plucked guitar melody that highlights the band’s vocals and words rather than concealing them.
The release of the rest, following Boygenius’ debut album the record, masterfully serves as a building block in Boygenius’ career to establish their dominance in the indie-rock genre. As if Boygenius’ cult-like following needed any more reasoning to be obsessed over their music, the rest provides their audience with another piece of media to rightfully play on repeat.
