The American indie super trio of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus brought a variety of pace and sentiment to their March debut album, the record, but their follow-up EP, the rest, is a quieter take. Serving as a deluxe edition dedicated to their impressive story-telling skills, the four
songs follow complex, often melancholic, relationships with others or, in some cases, themselves. As one member takes the lead of a certain song, the others support the individual’s proclamations as loyal friends do, sometimes with ethereal hums and harmonies. Black Hole’s beginning sees Baker describing a moment of a cigarette on the porch at night, before the group lists the details of a person they don’t want to miss, “White teeth, black light, white tee, brown eyes / Bad boy, big fight, you’re a good guy.”
boygenius restrain the production to let the lyrics carry the day but Baker’s lead on Powers is a satisfyingly punchy finale as the EP drifts off into a harmony of trumpets. If the last two records and lyrical prowess from “the boys” were not enough to bring on an existential crisis, the rest surely will.
