BOYGENIUS Vinyl & CDs

Review: Effective communication relies on being succinct. Boygenius clearly know this given their track record for naming things. 2023 saw the trio - Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus - drop their debut album, The Record, and now, a few months down the line, we have The Rest: an EP made up of the other bits that didn't quite make said LP.

If you're completely new to the band, then let's start by saying these offcuts that didn't fit would put many a group to shame, which tells you just how good the full record is. Here, though, we have the lo-fi, dream-indie-pop crackle and fuzz of 'Black Hole', a track of huge emotional resonance, heartfelt, heartbroken yet hopeful semi-folk on 'Afraid of Heights', and the delicate, tender, and incredibly personal letting go balladry of 'Voyager', just for starters. Sublime confirmation Boygenius are your new favourite thing.

Review: Even if you've no idea who Boygenius are the subtitle of this reissue alone should warrant investigation. Originally released in 2018, five years on the American indie group are looking to revisit and relive their wildly successful debut EP, which at the time of its initial release had critics fawning over the quality of its content. NME, for example, awarded it a perfect score, while the normalised rating on Metacritic, which aggregates all reviews and works out the average, gives it 84 out of 100. So what was so good about the record? Well, for one thing, each of the artists involved brings their own personality to the equation, resulting in a wonderful stylistic marriage that sounds like minimalistic and melancholic rock and poetic folk pop. And thematically, this is emotionally very highly charged stuff, destined to grab you by the heartstrings and never let go.

Review: Being a 'supergroup' - as Boygenius trio Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus are commonly described - has its pitfalls, one of which is finding time to record and promote your music. It was for this reason that it took the threesome almost five years to record their debut album, The Record, which was released to critical acclaim (the NME called it an 'instant indie classic') earlier this year. The fact that 'The Rest', an EP of unheard songs (literally - no previews were available online prior to release), has followed so quickly suggests that it was recorded at the same time. Either way, it was produced by the band alongside a team of six producers) and delivers more memorable songs in their now familiar American indie-rock style. A treat for fans, all told.