An important aspect of these supergroups or collaborative projects rely heavily on the chemistry - how can each member bounce off each other to create something great? Well, in the case of boygenius and this album, they have that in spades. I'm sure part of it is from the fact that all the members are fans of each other's work, but it's also in part from how they each come together to create their own style of indie rock. One of the immediate compliments I can give is towards the vocals! God, the vocals! They're so clean and crisp and when they harmonize on moments like "Without You Without Them" or the CSNesque "Cool About It" it results in some of the album's most beautiful moments. This is coupled with quite a bit of love from other genres. Sure, it's indie rock throughout the blood of the album, and moments like "$20" or "Anti-Curse" fit that mold very well, but there's a purveying heart of folk throughout, and if moments like "We're in Love" or the aptly named "Leonard Cohen" show them wearing this outfit brilliantly on their sleeves. This is just part of it - Bridgers, Baker, and Dacus all sound great, and their production gives the album an overall clean roughness to it. The end result is a great sounding album on the surface, polished and yet decisively with that indie rawness.
The other golden strength of the album lies in its lyricism. Throughout most of the record, boygenius presents us with a blunt emotional honesty and vulnerability in the lyrics that is nothing short of brilliant and admirable on this album. From the opening track of "Without You Without Them" all the way to the moody "Letter to an Old Poet" that sends off the album, the record has a deeply personal feel to its writing. "True Blue" is a brilliant love song with great word play, but also one that's stewed in some amount of imperfection - maybe that's what makes it so poignant and human. "Emily I'm Sorry" is a deeply personal piece about fame and isolation, likely in reference to Bridgers' relationship to Emily Bannon. "Not Strong Enough" is not only a deep look at depression and weakness, but also in some ways emblematic of the group's idea and message that women are seen as inferior strictly for being women - "always an angel, never a god" as the song says. "We're in Love" explores that imperfect love again, the acknowledgement of faults, while also having possibly my favorite line on the album: "You could absolutely break my heart - that's how I know we're in love". So good. This emotional rawness coats the entire album brilliantly, and adds another veil to its richness.
All three of the women involved in this album are talented in their own right, but what they make together is nothing short of an excellent album. the record is not a perfect release, but boygenius have made a truly special and heartfelt release with this album. Their formula of indie rock and folk is excellent here, as are the consistently great performances and harmonies, and it all comes together with their poignant lyricism and emotional honesty. It really is one of the best rock releases of the year so far, and an easy essential for anyone who is a fan of these artists - you won't regret listening.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to the record.
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