Woah, another article so soon? That’s rad. What? I’m just writing this as a tool to continue to procrastinate writing my college essays? I don’t know what you’re taking about.
Boygenius is a fairly recent love of mine. I’ve only been a fan for the last six months, but the first time I listened to their self-titled album I knew that I would be all in.
Their new EP (what even is an EP, anyway?), containing four songs and titled the rest, keeps with the band’s signature style of vulnerability, lyricism, and unique sound.
I’ll get my thoughts out of the way now: all four songs are beautiful, music and lyric-wise.
For me, the standout is the second song, “Afraid of Heights.”
It’s led by Lucy Dacus, which makes it being my favorite less surprising considering I loved her songs the most on the band’s main album.
The song’s message resonates with me a little more than the others. It describes watching someone you love self-destruct under the pressure of nihilism, and then shifts to discuss the necessity of hope despite the pain that comes with it. Its lyrics are especially poignant (though most Boygenius lyrics are), and it has my favorite melody of the new songs.
Bigger picture, the EP is loosely connected by a cosmic theme that plays a role in each song.
It both starts and ends with the creation of something new out of destruction, with the first song referencing stars seemingly born from black holes, and the final one utilizing a metaphor involving a supercollider.
“Afraid of Heights” relates its nihilism to the entropy of the universe (one of my favorite concepts), and the third song “Voyager” compares the lingering feelings of a painful breakup to being a man on the moon.
It also contains my favorite stand-alone lyric of the EP:
“But I never imagined a dot quite as pale or as blue / You took it from me, but I would have given it to you.”
I’m gonna cry.
This EP is 5/5. If you’re at all a fan of Boygenius (or even if you aren’t) you should give it a listen.
i love boygenius