boygenius

boygenius EP

Within such a short span of time, boygenius manages to cover universal experiences of insecurity and perpetual, sometimes funny sadness, along with more individual situations like the instability of touring, all with the same specificity, cleverness, and dreamlike melodies that could not have come from anyone else, nor could it have come from these musicians individually.

The EP from the supergroup made up of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus widens the horizons of each artist while simultaneously nailing down what makes each one of them unique.

For anyone still struggling to tell any woman with a guitar apart, the deft collaboration and complex collective songwriting on the boygenius EP is a great place to learn.

All three have fully realized albums under their belts, and boygenius allows them to flex their considerable muscles, showcasing their ample strengths and veering into new experiments in equal measure.

The lessons the EP documents are not always the most palatable, but the delivery is always as familiar as the wind, whether combing through fields or uprooting a mighty oak. This familiarity, in part, owes itself to the consistent clarity of vision maintained throughout the album as Bridges, Dacus, and Baker document shared trials with weary exasperation.

All these songs stand out for their craftsmanship and collaboration, not only between three artists but also three friends.

The boygenius EP marks a stunning release from three singular artists. Hearing them integrate their particular gifts would be worth a listen alone, but the performances are so remarkable that the disc's background becomes trivial.

Taken in as a small cache of excellent songs by three of the more talented songwriters of their era, Boygenius is a wonderful starting point, setting the scene for future collaborations that push into places each member couldn't get to on her own.

boygenius makes too many concessions to the solo work of its members when they could have been so much more.