“The Rest”
~ Crumbs have never tasted better ~
‘the rest’ EP cover photo featuring Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus & Julien Baker
Photo by: Matt Grub
10/18/23
10/18/23
Boygenius’ Friday the 13th release
The powerful LGBTQ+ band known as boygenius, comprised of the painfully perfect trio that is Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker, still riding the high from a successful release of their 2023 album ‘the record,’ dropped their latest EP entitled ‘the rest’ this last Friday.
With this being their second EP, after their self-titled 2018 ‘boygenius,’ the 2024 set included four songs (‘Black Hole,’ ‘Afraid of Heights,’ ‘Voyager,’ and ‘Powers,’ which we will talk about) that didn’t quite make the cut for the 2023 release, but were still worthy of their own debut, hence my referring to them as ‘crumbs.’ The leftovers, if you will, were met with empty bellies and gnashing teeth from the boygenius fans, myself and best friend, Chloe Konoske, included.
Following my first listen over my Anker Soundcore speaker (not a sponsor, just painting the scene, but a girl can dream), I shot a text over to the aforesaid best friend. Not even two seconds after sending my initials thoughts on the EP, I heard her chime a response, she was ready to discuss. And that we did! Which went a little something like this…
“Uh oh, Powers just started.” - Me
“Uh oh.” - Chloe
“What’s happening to me…” - Me
“Julien’s voice on it…” - Chloe
“She sounds great. The vocals are so raw on all four songs.” - Me
“DUDE THE BEGINNING OF VOYAGER. It’s very much like the first EP. Which I love.” - Chloe
Chloe is not only the reason I got into boygenius, but also a longtime fan AND, more importantly, a survivor. Specifically, she is a survivor of the “boygenius drought of 2018 to 2023” as she likes to put it. In 2023, when the drought finally broke, she was very adamant in sharing her affection for the famous trio with myself and our own Cherry Laced Roots trio member and best friend, Alexa Parvaneh. Which reminds me to remind you…
Check out Cherry Laced Roots if you’re interested in trio covers! Our first cover was actually of a boygenius song by the name of ‘Without You, Without Them’. Very on theme, but not intentional as this blog didn’t exist during the time of deciding what we were going to cover first. End of aside!
After months of Chloe throwing boygenius songs at us like spaghetti at a wall, which was not sticking because I was listening strictly to The Backseat Lovers and ONLY The Backseat Lovers — which we will ABSOLUTELY touch upon in good time, don’t you worry bout’ it, sweetheart — I finally caved and gave them a listen.
I don’t often admit that I am wrong, and that’s not out of a lack of being wrong, despite what you might catch me saying, but more so an ego thing, because at the end of the day, I am a Taurus and a girl. However, I did feel extremely stupid for not listening to the boygenius ladies sooner, because immediately they nestled themselves right into the void in my deep, dark soul.
Each of the three artists bring something eerily unique to the table that, simply put, hits different.
Bridgers brings a dark but captivating energy into the lyrics she writes delivered by her icy, cool voice. Dacus provides a warm, comforting and immoveable tone with her voice and a cynical wit with her lyricism. Baker supplies haunting high notes, an eye for perfection, and leaves her undeniable touch on the instrumentation. All of which result in a full and rich final composition within every song.
At first, I found myself leaning more into their 2018 EP, with gems like ‘Salt in the Wound’ and ‘Bite The Hand,’ until one day a flip switched and I was lost in the sauce that is ‘the record’ and, quite frankly, I haven’t been the same since then. The 2023 album is overflowing with indie rock bangers such as ‘$20,’ ‘Not Strong Enough,’ and ‘Satanist,’ as well as some romantically soft alternative ballads like ‘True Blue,’ and ‘Revolution 0.’
Although I would love to go into full and unending detail about any of the previously mentioned songs, I feel it would be more challenging and exciting to document my thoughts on/relationship with their new pieces found on the 2024 EP, as I haven’t had that long to form a deep connection with them.
So now, without further adieu, ‘the rest’ review:
We start off with ‘Black Hole,’ the name being a possible homage to a lyric from ‘Not Strong Enough,’ or so I would like to think. This is the first of two songs that heavily feature Julien Baker on lead. Safe to say the Baker girlies worldwide fell to their knees after this EP graced streaming platforms. The instrumentation in this song causes it to starkly differ itself from any of their other work, with the use of futuristic synths and soft, intentionally robotic drum crashes that build into a climatic halfway point, during which Dacus takes over with Bridgers harmonizing her every thought. The short choppy lyrics at the end still manage to drive home the song’s seemingly self-destructive message.
‘Afraid of Heights’ features Dacus’ signature immensely intelligent lyricism and her buttery voice on lead for majority of the song, blanketed by Bridgers and Baker on harmony sporadically throughout. It is no overstatement that Dacus is one of the best lyricists of modern day music. No matter how sweet or enticing the melody is in a boygenius song, I implore you to not let your guard down, because that’s just when Dacus will get you with her poignantly written stories. The narrative that unfolds is that of, in summary, a painful pairing of people (alliteration not intentional, but slay). Dacus describes the pitfalls and boundaries between herself and her seemingly daredevil partner at the time. The melody and guitar combination feels like a warm hug, as she tells us all about her ironically cold experience with a real life Icarus. The three harmonizing on a repeated line of “oh, it hurts to hope the future will be better than before,” is just the kicker in your side needed to end the song with a tender flourish.
For those of you wondering what Chloe’s stance is on the ‘the rest,’ this is her favorite on the EP (a solid choice).
Bridgers delivers a fatal blow to what little semblance of emotional stability her loyal listeners have left with ‘Voyager,’ and yes, I am speaking from personal experience. Honestly? No, I’m not okay. Thank you for not asking. The raw, real, and agonizingly beautiful vocals on this song sweep you up into the dark night sky, promising to eventually set you back down, but only after you agree to feel every word uttered by them. The song opens with bone-chilling harmonies from the trio, which Bridgers branches off from to provide the audience with a story of a passionate romance. Interestingly, the lyrics are very reminiscent of Bridgers’ ‘Moon Song’ from her ‘Punisher’ solo album, leaving listeners feeling as blue as the moon was on Aug. 31.
This song placed itself promptly into my likes on Spotify as my favorite on the EP.
This one is for my guitar guys and girlies, as well as my celestially inclined people. ‘Powers’ features a twangy and rhythmic guitar melody that carries us throughout the piece, positioning itself as the most “upbeat” song on the EP. Throughout the duration of the song, various swoons and swells over the acoustic instrumental tease us with the eventual promise of the horns that can be heard in the closing. The song itself, with Baker on lead for majority of it, describes a tale of how they got their “powers,'“ roll the credits! Using space and mechanical imagery as well as rhetorical questions to drive forward the narrative, the lyrics are much grungier than their other works, leaning heavily into the sci-fi aspect of superhero/villain origin stories. The audience follows the clunky fable toward a triumphantly sad horn amalgamation that takes us into the bittersweet ending of the EP.
The phrase “short and sweet” loses some of its validity when referring to this EP, due to the guaranteed melancholy feeling listeners can expect after consuming anything by boygenius. However, “short and solemn” doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Overall, the trio did not disappoint with ‘the rest’ which further drove home their ability to capture the relations between human beings, romantic or not, within their lyrics and melodies. I would be remiss not to recommend their entire discography, but this EP is a great starting place for those who are not yet convinced that they will definitely be left wanting more. Here’s to hoping we don’t see another 5 year long boygenius drought!
On that note, Jacky out-y 🍇🤍🍊
