Winter may be over, but there really is no reason for sad girl season to end just yet; they do have the best music taste after all. And there’s no better sad girl music to listen to than Boygenius.
Made up of indie sensations Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, Boygenius released their first full-length studio album, “The Record,” on March 31. From fun rock-like anthems to melancholic folk songs, “The Record” did not disappoint in delivering the trio’s extensive range.
Since their self-titled EP, Boygenius has fine-tuned their sound to complement each member’s tone, style and writing to create an album that truly embodies all three. Bridgers shines with a taste even further into her rock sound, something that we saw a bit of in her last album “Punisher.” Dacus’ warm vocals are a highlight throughout the entire album, with a special moment during the end of “Revolution 0.” And Baker’s mournful rasp adds a depth to each song that can’t be replicated.
“The Record” will truly give you emotional motion sickness with its back-and-forth between heartbreaking ballads and liberating rock songs. We will warn you though, the tears are bound to come even with the breaks.
The album’s more upbeat songs, like “Satanist,” “$20” and “Anti-Curse,” beautifully combine epic guitar solos with borderline hymnal lyrics, showing how Boygenius is able to create devastatingly devotional masterpieces to any tune.
There is something to be said about the lyricism on this album, and as a long-term fan of Bridgers’, Dacus’ and Baker’s solo work, “The Record” shows their abilities to construct a narrative to the forefront of the project. My personal favorite, “Leonard Cohen,” puts you in a car with Dacus, debating the seriousness of interrupting your lover’s favorite song. “Letter to an Old Poet” immerses you in the visceral love between two lovers and how moving on can be more comforting than they ever were.
Boygenius creates this beautiful narrative of platonic and romantic love and loss throughout the project, showing how both are essential, yet the lines between the two can become blurred and crossed as time goes on.
This album is truly for the girls, gays and theys. So put on “The Record,” lay on the Student Center Quad and have a happy sad-girl spring.
