| Boygenius | |
| Type: | EP |
| Artist: | Boygenius |
| Cover: | Boygenius – Boygenius.png |
| Released: | October 26, 2018 |
| Studio: | Sound City (Van Nuys, California) |
| Length: | 21:56 |
| Label: | Matador |
Boygenius is the debut EP by American indie supergroup Boygenius, composed of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. It was released on October 26, 2018, by Matador Records.
Singer-songwriters Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus self-produced and recorded the EP over four days in June 2018 at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles.[1] [2] The three made the decision to hire exclusively women for the process.[3] Each member of the group brought one mostly-finished song to the studio that received further input from the other two; Baker contributed "Stay Down", Bridgers contributed "Me & My Dog", and Dacus contributed "Bite the Hand". Three additional songs emerged during the recording process from the trio's own demos.[3] [4]
Baker, Bridgers and Dacus formally announced the formation of Boygenius in August 2018. On the same day, three singles, "Bite The Hand", "Stay Down" and "Me & My Dog" were released, and their eponymous EP was scheduled for release on November 9.[5] On October 26, the EP was released digitally, two weeks ahead of schedule.[6]
The album's cover is a reference to Crosby, Stills & Nash, the self-titled 1969 debut album by the American folk-rock supergroup consisting of David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash.
Boygenius has received acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 13 reviews. Rhian Daly of NME gave the EP a perfect score, stating "it serves as a reminder of each musician's particular powers – Bridgers' ability to spin haunting, poetic folk-pop out of beautiful simplicity; Dacus' sage and, often, wry indie-rock; and Baker's dramatic, emo-tinged exorcisms of emotion."
In a review for Pitchfork, Dayna Evans rated the album 8.3/10, writing that each member of Boygenius performs in "distinct musical styles": "For Bridgers, an intimate voice and shy guitar with a folkier bedroom softness; Baker, enormous emo minor tones and a voice that could blow down a building; Dacus, vocals that are clear and confrontational and a guitar shrouded in fuzz. When performed together, it yields an effective kind of magic."
| List | Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consequence of Sound | Top 50 Albums of 2018 | |||
| Esquire | Top 20 Albums of 2018 | |||
| Flood | Top 25 Albums of 2018 | |||
| NPR Music | Top 50 Albums of 2018 | |||
| Under the Radar | Top 100 Albums of 2018 | |||
| The Wild Honey Pie | Top 30 Albums of 2018 |
Credits adapted from liner notes.[7]
Boygenius
Additional personnel