Indie-rock supergroup, boygenius, takes us on a trip to the moon in their Oct. 13 release, “the rest.” An EP comprised of four songs, just six months after their debut album “the record” of equally gut-wrenching and head-banging hits.
“the rest” serves as essentially what it is titled, the rest, the final songs which give closure to their debut album. The three musicians, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, take listeners on a journey through thematic ideas surrounding strong friendships, heartbreaking romances and ideas revolving around what it means to be human. Containing each band member’s talented and skilful writing, it comes as no surprise that the EP features four masterfully crafted, poetic and beautifully dark songs.
Opening track “Black Hole” describes a contradicting image of one’s obvious assumption of a black hole. Baker shared her thoughts behind the song during a live acoustic performance at Fingerprints, Long Beach CA, “When we were recording, Lucy showed me a tweet that was a headline that was like ‘Black Hole Creating Stars’ instead of just sucking them up and destroying them.” Creating an alternative picture to that seen in “Not Strong Enough,” the sixth track on “the record,” referring to the band’s more destructive habits. In comparison, the lyrical sequence in “Black Hole” juxtaposes this idea, and rather frames the black hole as providing light despite living darkness and the realization that some things in life are out of our hands, suggesting bad things aren’t as doomsday-esque as they once thought.
The fan-favorite third track, “Voyager” explores the nuances of the tragic end of a relationship. Bridgers, the narrator, has had many a fascination with leading her listeners through a hauntingly beautiful yet somber journey to the moon, a theme which recurs in one solo song and two boygenius tracks. Following the lyrics “Walking alone in the city/Makes me feel like a man on the moon,” it appears that Bridgers has finally landed on the moon and is looking at the “pale blue dot,” a metaphor used to describe the Earth. With this, she haunts listeners with a reference to track seven off her sophomore solo album, “Punisher” where she states “If I could give you the moon/I would give you the moon,” which is agonizingly paralleled towards the end of Voyager with, “I never imagined a dot quite as pale or as blue/You took it from me, but I would’ve given it to you.”
“the rest” is an artwork worth the 12-minute listen. “the rest” may not be “the record,” but it was never made to be. “the rest” is a testament to things which we may overlook, ideas and feelings we may suppress out of fear. It is an afterthought, a closure paving the way to a new beginning.
RATING: 7/10
