Photo provided by Anthony Muñoz
December, 2023
By Anthony Muñoz, Music Critic
Each month, our fearless music critic Anthony Muñoz will review one album selected by Cardinal Post readers. To choose next month’s album, follow our Instagram page and keep an eye on our stories.
This month’s album was selected by 11th-grade English teacher Amy Welin.
Anthony’s Rating: 8/10
Music can be powerful; it’s a way for people to escape from the struggles of the world and focus on something that will make them feel alive. We all have different tastes in music, but where can we find new music without getting biased recommendations from others? Is it worth giving it a listen? Here at the Cardinal Post, we’re here to answer just that.
Today we’re reviewing boygenius’s latest album, The Record. boygenius is a band consisting of 3 members, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus, who all bring their unique vocals to their music. In 2018, they released their first EP named, “boygenius,” which was their debut and got the attention of a major record label named “Interscope Records.” They made a return in March 2023 by releasing their successful album The Record which received 7 Grammy nominations for their take on Indie rock; indie folk with unique vocals and a great choice of instruments.
The Record starts strong with “Without You Without Them,” showcasing boygenius’s vocals all clashing beautifully with each other, giving it an almost quartet sound. This is a genius way to start off the album because it showcases what boygenius is capable of vocal-wise, and shows a glimpse of what’s to come in the following tracks of the album. The second track of the album, “$20,” is an indie rock song that is easily one of the best songs on the album. Using synths and strings to carry the electric guitar makes “$20” a memorable track.
The third track, “Emily I’m Sorry,” is led by Phoebe Bridgers, who tells a story about her past relationship with Emily Bannon who was in a polyamorous relationship with Bridgers and producer Chris Nelson. This song tells a big story that Bridgers expresses through her amazing vocal performance, with Baker and Dacus as backing vocals. The fourth track, “TrueBlue” is a story about Dacus moving away from home and finding a loyal partner, as the phrase “True Blue” means to be loyal/committed. This track feels uplifting and succeeds at being an indie folk song.
The following track, “Cool About It” has a genius way of telling a story. When watching the music video, the lyrics almost perfectly match the story being shown in the video. Each member of boygenius splits their lyrics into 3 verses of the song and tells the story of a falling relationship with poor communication.
The next track, “Not Strong Enough” is the band’s most popular song to date. This song is popular for a reason; it sounds like a song you’d hear on the radio, with the production of “Not Strong Enough” being noticeably more profound and uplifting than the rest of the tracks on The Record.
Following “”Not Strong Enough,” “Revolution 0” and “Leonard Cohen” are both indie folk songs that don’t stand out from the rest of the tracks, having decent lyrics and a pretty dry sound. However, this doesn’t mean they’re bad songs; they just don’t feel as alive as the rest of the tracks on the album. But the ninth track of the album, “Satanists” brings back a similar indie rock sound as “$20.” This track brings back the distorted guitar and introduces a different topic from the rest of the tracks. “Satanists” was written by Julien Baker after she watched the documentary “Hail Satan” and decided to write a song inspired by it.
The tenth track, “We’re In Love” has a softer sound from the tracks before, being led by Lucy Dacus, who sings over a mellow piano with strings gliding the track. This track could resemble the relationship of the band, with one of the lyrics referencing each other’s matching tattoos. The eleventh track of the album, “Anti-Cures” starts with a calm guitar and then shifts into an indie rock song that is wonderfully guided by Julien Baker’s powerful vocal performance. The song transitions into the last song of the album, “Letter To An Old Poet” which ends the album beautifully with a depressing yet beautiful sounding piano with boygenius all singing together to send it off.
Considering that this is only the band’s second release, it is surprising to see what these three artists can achieve together. Their vocals complement each other, more than most trios, and the stories they tell in The Record are beautiful. But not everything is perfect; the only criticism I have is that although the stories in each of these tracks are wonderful to hear, the lyrics can be a bit bland at times, which doesn’t ruin the listening experience, but they could be a bit more fleshed out and creative. But overall, The Record exceeded my expectations and was definitely a fun listen.
The Record gives us a peek into the world of boygenius, providing uplifting songs like “True Blue” and more saddening tracks like “Cool About It.” The album has amazing vocal performances from everyone in boygenius, a super band whose ideas bounce off each other, which makes each of their songs feel alive. The Record receives an 8/10 for its amazing approach to the Indie folk genre while also mixing it up by experimenting with other genres like Indie rock and pop. I highly recommend giving this album a listen if you’re familiar with indie rock/indie folk, but if not, this album would be a great place to start.
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