A recent release by the all-female, indie rock supergroup: “Boygenius,” “The Rest” is the perfect way to close out an excellent year. It acts as a follow-up to “The Record,” which was released in March, and greatly expanded its audience. Where “The Record” was measured, lush, and optimistic, “The Rest” is raw, unassuming and nostalgic. Running just over twelve minutes, this album succeeds at wrapping up any loose end from the record and doing it in a fresh, creative way.
Track Reviews:
Black Hole: Julien Baker opens the EP by lamenting her artistry. She describes a string of stars that were created by a black hole. This blatantly references lyrics in “The Record,” where black holes represent missed opportunity and wasted potential. The lyrical quality of these few short lines foreshadows what’s to come in this EP. In the song’s second half, Julien Baker’s quiet, folky timbre is replaced by Lucy Dacus’ delicate voice. The song spirals into a stream of consciousness before fading to silence. It shifts from their previous album’s soft rock ballads and CSN-esque harmonies. Overall, the music provides an excellent opening to a great EP.
Afraid of Heights: Throughout “Afraid of Heights,” Lucy Dacus describes a complicated relationship. She reveals her fears about her future and mortality. It employs a similar structure to the previous song. While this build and fade was successful on “Black Holes,” it falls flat on this track. The song has a compelling start but never fully delivers and leaves the listener expecting more.
Voyager: This song stands out as a highlight from “The Rest”. Primarily focused on Phoebe Bridgers, the song describes the emotions felt in the wake of a relationship’s end. Bridgers’ evocative lyrics tackle similar themes as the previous song, with quiet humming and intricate strings layered below. She mourns a deep connection she has now lost and concludes her symbolic journey to the moon. For Bridgers, the moon represents an escape. It frequently appears throughout her work and has become a staple of her writing. On Voyager, she finally arrives and stares down at the earth, her life’s problems seeming small.
Powers: If “Powers,” the closing song of the album, proves anything, it’s that Boygenius is a group that is meant to be working together. The song is a perfect example of their beautiful lyricism, vocals, and instrumentation.. The three verses of the song all explore unique aspects of their natures, and are sonically distinct. It opens with intense strumming and Julien Baker’s exploration of her own origins. She questions where she got her “Powers,” exploring comic book clichés. As the brief second verse begins, harmonies are introduced and the guitars intensify. Baker now compares herself to comets and Gregor Samsa. As the song comes to an end, the band members’ voices ring clearly over the acoustics. They sing about their connection, comparing friendship to nuclear reaction: impactful and mysterious. Their voices fade together like their bodies on the EP’s cover, replaced by a droning horn.
Closing Thoughts:
Overall, this EP is very clearly a passion project for the group. The instrumentation is somewhat underwhelming, compared to “The Record”, it allows the group’s incredible lyricism to shine. The writing is insightful, and thoughtful, reminiscent of Joni Mitchell and Jeff Buckley. Ultimately, this piece of music should leave all fans of Boygenius excited for the future.