Katherine Witts
After a small hiatus to focus on their individual careers, the American indie group boygenius is back, and they’re breaking our hearts once again. the record is a collection of singles in anticipation of their new album that is set to drop on March 31st of this year.
Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, have impressed us time and time again with their beautifully calming voices and often melancholy lyrics. Being a fan of Bridgers and Dacus for the last couple of years, I was beyond excited with the news of this release.
Bridgers has undoubtedly achieved success in the last few years from her recent collaborations with The 1975, Taylor Swift, and SZA on their latest albums. Meanwhile, Dacus devastated the internet with the six-and-a-half-minute song Night Shift on her album Historian.
‘$20’
“symbolises the chaos of the story”
We begin with the first single of the record, $20. This soft-rock anthem blends each of the artists’ styles delicately to create an almost unsettling feeling the deeper we delve into the song. As the song progresses, we hear their voices become harder and scratchier which symbolises the chaos of the story which begins to unfold.
We can imagine this song being played during a main character’s slow descent into madness with the mundaneness of the repetitions they experience in their everyday life.
‘Emily I’m Sorry’
We move on to the second track of the album Emily I’m Sorry. In comparison to the first song, we hear a calming and almost dream-like track that tells the guilt and desperation that one feels after a breakup which was their fault. Bridgers leads the song, while Dacus and Baker create beautiful harmonies that further allude this dreamy sense.
“fits into Bridger’s classic style of creating nostalgia and loss”
The song fits into Bridgers’ classic style of creating nostalgia and loss from the unsaid words of past relationships. Emily I’m Sorry is no different to this as throughout the song we begin to question what could’ve happened if only we’d apologised for the hurt we cause.
‘True Blue’
To end this single, we have True Blue which is led by Dacus and his haunting voice. Out of the three songs, True Blue is definitely the most hopeful and happy of the bunch.
“uplifts listeners with the feeling of true peace”
Whilst Bridgers’ song demonstrates the feelings of being lost after a relationship, Dacus’ uplifts listeners with the feeling of true peace knowing their partner sees their true self. It’s about the safety you feel in a relationship, to express yourself even during the frustrating and bad times.
Each song on the single represents each artists clear musical and storytelling strengths. Thus far, the LP feels like a ballad of them showcasing the power they hold as a three and the various musical sounds they are able to create when they put their forces together.
I’m excited for the full LP to come out in March and to find out more about what this three have to offer us!
Featured image courtesy of Photo by weston m via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image.
Katherine Witts
Kath is a native Welsh-speaker and junior news editor for 'upday UK'. She is currently undergoing her masters in 'Visual Journalism' in Cardiff. As a former entertainment editor for Empoword and co-founder of Empoword's 'Pop Babble' podcast, Kath loves all things music, film, TV, and literature.