Boygenius (EP)

Boygenius (stylized in all lowercase) is the debut EP by American indie group Boygenius, composed of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. It was released on October 26, 2018 by Matador Records.

Boygenius
EP by
Boygenius
ReleasedOctober 26, 2018
StudioSound City (Van Nuys, CA)
Genre
Length21:56
LabelMatador
Producer
boygenius chronology
Boygenius
(2018)		 The Record
(2023)
Julien Baker chronology
Turn Out the Lights
(2017)		 Boygenius
(2018)		 Little Oblivions
(2021)
Phoebe Bridgers chronology
Stranger in the Alps
(2017)		 Boygenius
(2018)		 Better Oblivion Community Center
(2019)
Lucy Dacus chronology
Historian
(2018)		 Boygenius
(2018)		 2019
(2019)
Singles from Boygenius
  1. "Bite the Hand"
    Released: August 21, 2018
  2. "Me & My Dog"
    Released: August 21, 2018
  3. "Stay Down"
    Released: August 21, 2018

Background and recording

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.[3][4] The three made the decision to hire exclusively women for the process.[5] 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.[5][6]

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.[7] On October 26, the EP was released digitally, two weeks ahead of schedule.[8]

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.[9]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.0/10[10]
Metacritic84/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
American Songwriter[13]
Consequence of SoundA[14]
Drowned in Sound7/10[15]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[16]
Exclaim!8/10[9]
NME[17]
Paste8.8/10[18]
Pitchfork8.3/10[19]
PopMatters8/10[20]

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.[11] 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."[17]

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."[19]

Year-end lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2018
7
[21]
Esquire Top 20 Albums of 2018
11
[22]
FLOOD Top 25 Albums of 2018
13
[23]
NPR Music Top 50 Albums of 2018
12
[24]
The Wild Honey Pie Top 30 Albums of 2018
3
[25]
Under the Radar Top 100 Albums of 2018
3
[26]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Boygenius, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Bite the Hand"3:12
2."Me & My Dog"3:26
3."Souvenir"3:32
4."Stay Down"4:00
5."Salt in the Wound"4:11
6."Ketchum, ID" (Boygenius, Christian Lee Hutson)3:35
Total length:21:56

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.[27]

Boygenius

Additional personnel

  • Anna Butterss – bass
  • Elizabeth Goodfellow – drums
  • Joseph Lorge – engineering, mixing (on "Me & My Dog")
  • Collin Pastore – mixing (except on "Me & My Dog")
  • Heba Kadry – mastering
  • Lera Pentelute – photo

Charts
Chart performance for Boygenius
Chart (2018–2023) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[28] 64
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[29] 57
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[30] 24
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[31] 3
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[32] 9
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[33] 21
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[34] 19
UK Album Sales Chart (OCC)[35]
85

References
  1. Saunders, Hillary (November 30, 2016). "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Paste. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  2. "Boygenius - Boygenius EP". Under the Radar. November 20, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  3. Mapes, Jillian (October 18, 2018). "boygenius Are the Egoless Supergroup of Your Indie Rock Dreams". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  4. Battan, Carrie. "Boygenius Is Driven by the Spirit of Solidarity". The New Yorker (November 12, 2018 ed.). Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  5. Conner, Matt; Freedman, Max (June 14, 2019). "boygenius - The Under the Radar Cover Story". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  6. Bernstein, Jonathan (October 23, 2018). "The Collaborative Magic of Boygenius". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  7. Rincón, Alessandra (August 9, 2018). "Julian Baker, Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers Form Boygenius, Release Three Singles From EP: Listen". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  8. Kamp, Justin (October 26, 2018). "Boygenius Surprise-Release Debut EP: Listen Now". Paste. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  9. Bobkin, Matt (November 7, 2018). "boygenius: boygenius". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  10. "boygenius by boygenius reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  11. "Boygenius [EP] by Boygenius Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  12. Thomas, Fred. "Boygenius – Boygenius". AllMusic. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  13. Beviglia, Jim (June 20, 2018). "boygenius: boygenius EP". American Songwriter. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  14. Barr, Natalia (November 7, 2018). "boygenius Blend Together Perfectly on Debut EP". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  15. Byrne, Cal (November 18, 2018). "Ep Review: Boygenius – Boygenius". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on January 28, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  16. Greenblatt, Leah (November 2, 2018). "boygenius: boygenius". Entertainment Weekly. p. 49.
  17. Daly, Rhian (November 2, 2018). "Boygenius – 'Boygenius' EP review". NME. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  18. Johnson, Ellen (November 6, 2018). "boygenius: boygenius Review". Paste. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  19. Evans, Dayna (October 26, 2018). "boygenius: boygenius EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  20. Cober-Lake, Justin (October 26, 2018). "Boygenius Provide Formal and Emotional Strength on Their Self-Titled EP". PopMatters. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  21. "The Top 50 Albums of 2018". Consequence.net. December 3, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  22. Miller, Matt (December 19, 2018). "20 Best Albums of 2018". Esquire.com. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  23. "The Best Albums of 2018". Floodmagazine.com. December 10, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  24. "The 50 Best Albums of 2018". NPR. Npr.org. 4 December 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  25. "Top 30 Albums of 2018". Thewildhoneypie.com. December 18, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  26. "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums". Undertheradarmag.com. December 30, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  27. Boygenius (Liner notes). Boygenius. Matador Records. 2018. OLE-1408-1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  29. "Boygenius Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  30. "Boygenius Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  31. "Boygenius Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  32. "Boygenius Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  33. "Boygenius Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  34. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  35. "Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
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