Track of the Week

 

As promised, this weeks track of the week is from Boygenius’ new EP ‘the rest’. Of course, it was very difficult for me to choose one song of four from such a great project, but I eventually settled on ‘Afraid of Heights’ as it’s definitely the song I’ve had stuck in my head the most since its release last Friday. 

I first discovered Boygenius through Phoebe Bridgers in lockdown, which was an amazing time for me in terms of new music. In fact, I went in with one music taste and came out with entirely another. However, I don’t think I really understood just how special Boygenius are until they announced ‘the record’ and the idea of them returning became real. It’s honestly difficult to describe how insanely special it is to see three of your favourite solo artists team up as best friends to release music together which combines all of their individual brilliance as well as its very own sound. There are very few bands I can say have no skips, but Boygenius is one of them, and in fact everything they’ve ever released as a band is on my ‘10/10 would recommend’ playlist, reserved for my very favourite music. 

In terms of the actual song, it seems to be almost structured like a campfire song with a very singalong quality, yet in Lucy Dacus’ classic style she manages to fit beautifully poetic lyrics into this standard structure. The actual tone of the instruments (detuned guitar and percussion predominantly) is definitely reminiscent of Phoebe’s latest solo album ‘Punisher’ but also combines the atmospheric quality of Julien’s solo work as well. For this reason, I’d say ‘Afraid of Heights’ is a top tier example of how Boygenius manage to consistently combine their individual strengths and produce some stunning music out of them. 

Lyrically, as I’ve mentioned, the song is beautifully devastating in the way anything written by Lucy Dacus is. My favourite quotes include ‘I don’t wanna live forever / But I don’t wanna die tonight’, ‘I wanna live a vibrant life / But I wanna die a boring death’ and ‘Oh it hurts to hope the future will be better than before’. Lucy’s writing style is just so striking here, the way she has with words takes my breath away. Her lead vocal is also gorgeous on this, of course backed up by harmonies from Phoebe and Julien who have mastered their blending to complement key lyrics perfectly. 

So, I would recommend Boygenius to all of you. Seriously, listen to them right now. You won’t regret it.