While on the international tour of their debut album, “the record,” indie-rock, all-girl band Boygenius released an EP titled “the rest” on Oct. 13. In these four tracks, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus rely on cryptic, emotion-inducing lyricism infused with passionate symbolism that transcends the sad-girl music stereotype, producing intimate and perceptive poetry.
The EP opens with Baker in the rain admiring a black hole that seems to create stars rather than consume them in “Black Hole” — a track that Baker said was inspired by a NASA article about the galactic phenomena that explores unexpected beautiful aspects of destruction. Bridgers and Dacus harmonize as they recall, without anger or desire, a relationship that ended for no particular reason as they sing, “Good day / Good night / Good talk / Goodbye.” The whole second verse is sung more like bullet points rather than lyrics, but the repetitive simplicity demonstrates the clarity that accompanies the band’s acceptance of the past. The layered instrumentals and drums build throughout the last verse, and the way the beat never peaks or drops simulates the eternal tunneling of a black hole but leaves something to be desired for the listener.
In “Afraid of Heights,” Dacus is reflecting on her life where she weighs whether her reckless tendencies are worth it anymore. Dacus recalls a relationship that tested her boundaries over blunt guitar chords and a faint siren’s song that builds throughout with the occasional harmony from Baker and Bridgers that makes this song a highlight from a musicality point of view. The lyrics, “I wanna live a vibrant life / But I wanna die a boring death,” enforces a theme woven throughout the EP of recognizing the band’s own mortality and the concrete entanglement of fear and hope.
Dacus describes her life devolving into chaos as the beat builds, singing, “How we’re stuck in entropy / How it hurts to hope,” which in a sense mocks the “vibrant life” she had hoped for earlier in the song, giving it a cynical twist. The yearning tone and combative lyricism emphasize the internal conflict at the core of this track: is there still a point to life if you have nothing to risk?
The theme of misguided passion and convoluted hindsight bleeds into the following track, “Voyager,” where Bridgers returns to the moon — a spiritual place in her mind she often references in her music that represents solace and loyalty. In this melodious track Bridgers looks back on a past relationship where the lines between passion and performance fade when she sings, “But I used to believe no one could love you like I do (Mmm) / And I’m startin’ to think that it might be impossible not to (Mmm).” These lyrics could have two conflicting meanings; either Bridgers still feels deeply and irrevocably connected to this person, or their bond was surface level and hindsight has proven its insignificance.
As the song ends, Bridgers is alone, looking back on her past from a place of comfort as she confesses, “But I never imagined a dot quite as pale or as blue / You took it from me, but I would’ve given it to you,” with Baker and Dacus harmonizing beside her. Although, now, Bridgers is able to see the relationship offered nothing of substance, having at one point consumed her and spit her out with a new sense of wisdom that will guide her future voyages into relationships.
“the rest” closes by taking listeners on a cosmic search for identity in “Powers.” Baker is fighting with the brash guitar strums for the majority of the song as she describes her lonely past using vivid imagery of exploration in lyrics like, “Thrust into bein’, careenin’ along / On a crooked little trajectory / Dissolvin’ in movement, a body in orbit,” to demonstrate her search for meaning to her life. When Dacus and Bridgers join in, the beat and melody of all three voices unifying, a pleasing and powerful sound emerges as their individual existences become one insurmountable force.
Boygenius strayed from the rock instrumentals featured in many of the tracks from their album “the record,” with more subtle and stripped instrumentals to allow their devastatingly beautiful lyrical abilities to really stand out in this EP. Throughout the tracks, Baker, Bridgers and Dacus prove working together fuels their artistry. As each of their solo careers blossoms, listeners can only hope the three will continue to collaborate and produce more transformative music.
