Because of what I’m about to say about The Rest, I feel like I need to lay out my credentials as a boygenius fan. I became a Phoebe Bridgers obsessive as soon as Stranger in the Alps was released and have been drawn into everything she has done in her career, with the initial boygenius EP being my favourite thing she has done outside of her solo work. That EP led to a deep dive into Lucy Dacus who now also sits pretty high on my list of favourites. And while I have never quite been able to get there with Julien Baker’s own music, I absolutely love what she does with the band and think that she has had a heavy role in a lot of their best moments. I adored the record. And seeing the band live at The Piece Hall in Halifax earlier this year was one of those rare transcendent moments, an almost magical feeling created by seeing people who really deserve it, and who really care for each other, get to play to such a large and dedicated crowd.
So, yeah. Big fan. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I was hugely disappointed with The Rest. I was as excited as anyone to hear that, in what is already the year of boygenius, we were getting another new release – four unheard songs that were sure to blow our minds. But the whole EP just feels so slight. And it’s not just the fact that there is only twelve minutes of music here, although as someone who paid over £20 for the vinyl that does smart a bit. It’s also that songs just don’t really do a lot.
At two minutes and twenty-one seconds, ‘Black Hole’ feels like it has come and gone before you’ve even really noticed it’s started. On a twelve-song album, with room for growth and progress, this song might have worked in a similar way to ‘Without You Without Them’ at the start of the record. But here, it feels like a quarter of the content has gone by during a song that barely feels like a song at all.
Continuing a trend from the LP, it is a Lucy Dacus led song that really shines here. ‘Afraid of Heights’ is the clear strong point of the EP, with the storytelling, lyricism, lead vocal, and harmonies all on point. But if you put this song up against the Lucy led ones of the previous releases, it doesn’t come close to matching up. It’s good, but there’s little more to say about it than that.
And as Phoebe is the band member I really consider myself to be an avid fan of, ‘Voyager’ is a particular disappointment. A less involving version of ‘Halloween’ or ‘Emily I’m Sorry.’ Then the EP ends with ‘Powers’ and, in the same way it began, it is a song that kind of passes me by. It’s listenable when it’s on, but as soon as it isn’t playing anymore, I have forgotten it.
None of these are bad songs. As is always the case with boygenius, the lyrics are (at times) outstanding (‘I want to live a vibrant life/but I want to die a boring death’ or ‘you took it from me/but I would’ve given it to you’ for example), they harmonise amazingly well, and their voices are as good as ever. For many bands, this would be a knockout. But as a boygenius fan I can’t help but feel a little shortchanged (especially as a chump who preordered the twelve minute vinyl) – none of these songs would get near the album or the original EP and, because of that, it is hard to see the point in the release as a whole. Despite all that overwhelming negativety, though, I am writing this the day after they were nominated for a bucket load of Grammy Awards that I sincerely hope they win. One below par EP doesn’t stop this from being the year of boygenius.
Words by Fran Slater
Picky Bastards 
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