boygenius began in 2018 when three friends with well-established music careers, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, had the idea of uniting to create a supergroup. Together they worked to create their first EP, ‘boygenius,’ which was a mash-up of each artist’s unique qualities: Bridgers’s haunting voice, Dacus’s confessional lyrics and Baker’s “sick riffs.” Now they’ve returned with a debut album titled “the record.”

The album consists of 12 songs reflecting on the trials and tribulations of life, how being surrounded by loved ones can make those challenges easier, and how friendship shapes who you are, all while connecting back to what seems to be all three friends’ favorite subject: heartbreak.

The first track is titled “Without You Without Them” and sets up the main theme of the album—relationships and how they shape you—by posing a question, which is sung acapella by the three artists throughout the song: “Who would I be without you?”

In the fifth track “Cool About It” Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker return to their roots and do what they do best: singing about breakups. The track’s lyrics paint a picture of two exes meeting up in a dive bar for the first time post-break up. Throughout the encounter the narrator attempts to put on an act and sings about the resentment that filters through their head with lyrics like “wishing you were kind enough to be cruel about it” and “telling myself I can always do without it.” “Cool About It” is by far my favorite song on the album due to its catchy melody and relatable sentiments.

“Letter To An Old Poet” is one of this album’s more underappreciated tracks. The song acts as a reimagining of the song “Me and My dog”, from the band’s EP, with its newer and wiser perspective of a toxic relationship and its bitter ending. In the song, the narrator acknowledges how they idolized their ex lover in the lyric “You’re not special, you’re evil” and the abusive behaviors they overlooked; “I shoulda left you right there with your hostages, my heart and my car keys”. The song works as a bittersweet ending to a beautiful album sprinkled with confessionals, much reflection and a meaningful lesson.

Overall, I give “the record” by boygenius an 8/10. At times it felt too slow and I skipped a song or two, but there is much more to love about this album than to hate. I highly recommend this album to anyone who enjoys Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus or indie rock in general.