Oat milk latte drinkers rejoice, supergroup boygenius is officially back. Consisting of members Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, the indie-rock trio announced Wednesday that they will be releasing their long-awaited debut album The Record on March 31 with Interscope Records. In conjunction with the announcement, they released three new songs: “$20,” “Emily I’m Sorry,” and “True Blue.”
Each song was led by a different member, and first up to bat was Baker. With “$20,” boygenius hits the ground running and doesn’t slow down. The song is loud, unapologetic and the lyrics are perfectly guided by Baker who meets up with her bandmates at the end of carefully selected lines to deliver them with the kind of punch that only boygenius can. This song reminds me of “Lazy Eye” by Silversun Pickups, except if it had been written by someone wearing Doc Martens. Ending in a scream that is equal parts loud and cathartic, this song is everything that I could ask for and then some.
Next up is “Emily I’m Sorry,” and while the song mainly features Bridgers’ vocals, Baker and Dacus weave seamlessly in and out and remind listeners what makes boygenius so special. A sharp change of pace from “$20,” the addition of “Emily I’m Sorry” shows the versatility of boygenius; the song is soft but also undeniably striking, every bit as powerful as the song that it follows yet completely different from it. This song makes me want to start a fight with one of my various friends named Emily, solely so I can then send it to them after as an apology. (I personally think that they would respect the commitment to the bit.)
Rounding out the lineup is “True Blue,” a song that has an undeniable Dacus feel. Featuring lyrics like “When you don’t know who you are / You fuck around and find out,” and “You can’t help but become the sun,” this is the type of poignant story about self-discovery, intimate relationships, and the painful complexities of life that Dacus is able to tell so beautifully.
These are songs that deserve to be played at an obnoxiously loud volume; even when the subject matter is heavy, they remain fun to listen to (and there’s something about listening to boygenius that makes me automatically feel cooler every time and for that, my ego would like to thank them). Every song released by boygenius feels like further evidence that too much of a good thing is in fact not a bad thing, but sometimes an even greater thing, and with each release it becomes more apparent that one of the trio’s greatest skills is the ability to play up the strengths of each vocalist individually and then find the perfect moments to bring them together, whether it be in carefully chosen pairs or all three members. After listening to this newly released collection of songs more times than I would like to publicly admit, I have come to the conclusion that they are all so different from each other that I genuinely have no idea what to expect from the rest of the album and I could not be more excited to find out. While we wait, check out “$20,” “Emily I’m Sorry,” and “True Blue” below.
Haley Gilbert is a student writer from Lawrenceville, Georgia. She currently attends the University of Georgia and is part of the Marketing and Music Business programs. After attending countless concerts throughout her life, Haley realized the only thing she enjoys more than listening to music is talking about listening to music, and she is excited to do just that with Vinyl Mag. While she gravitates towards folk and rock music, she is looking forward to expanding her tastes, immersing herself in the vibrant Athens music scene, and sharing her findings with all of you.