On Friday the thirteenth, Boygenius dropped their new EP titled “The Rest.” It consists of four new songs, with a runtime of twelve minutes.
“These are songs that weren’t ready for the record and then we spent time on them and they are ready now,” Lucy Dacus said in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe.
The four songs are on the more mellow side, a stark contrast to songs featured on The Record like “$20.” The EP opens with the song “Black Hole.” This song parallels another song of theirs titled; “Not Strong Enough”, which opens with the lyric “Black hole opened in the kitchen.” Instead of the dread filled feeling which it conveyed before, this black hole symbolizes something different. This black hole is creating stars, which can be a reference to a recently discovered phenomenon, where a mysterious black hole is leaving a trail of new stars in its wake. This song has an almost hopeful feel to it, and explores the idea that there are forces in your life that you are unable to control. “It’s out of your hands/but have a safe flight,” is sung by Bridgers and Dacus.
The EP then moves into a Dacus lead song, which is titled “Afraid of Heights.” It details a relationship in which one person is very careless with their life, and more prone to taking risks, while Dacus prefers to stay safe. In the third verse, she sings “I never rode a motorcycle / I’ve never smoked a cigarette / I wanna live a vibrant life / But I wanna die a boring death.” This song is a testament to wanting to live a safe life, and hoping for the privilege of dying a simple and peaceful death. How risks are not needed, and that deep anxiety can hold us back, but also keep us safe.
This is followed by the Bridgers lead song “Voyager,”a heartbreaking song that details the loss of a relationship. The moon and space is not only a motif in Boygenius songs, but Bridger’s solo music as well. In the song “Me and My Dog” featured on their self-titled ep, Bridgers sings “I wish I was on a spaceship / Just me and my dog and an impossible view.” But in this song, Bridgers has come down from space, and describes the feelings of being on her own: “Walking’ alone in the city / Makes me feel like a man on the moon / Every small step I took was so easy.” Now that her relationship is over, it feels like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders. Although this relationship may have not been the best for her, she still feels so alone without this person: “But 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 final line of the song can be compared to one of the lines in ̈Moon Song ̈ off of Bridgers 2020 album “Punisher” where she laments, “And if I could give you the moon / I would give you the moon.”
The closing song of this EP is titled “Powers” and is led by Baker. Unlike the other songs, which have deep and exploring themes, this one is a bit more simple. It tells the tale of Baker trying to find what her origin is. It could also be interpreted as desperately searching for what is “wrong” with you, so you can finally find some explanation for your problems. As the final the lyric plays out“,The hum of our contact/the sound of our collisions”, there is an instrumental at the end, with a beautiful use of the horn. If you were a fan of songs like ̈Letter to an old poet, ̈ or ̈Emily im sorry, ̈ off the record, then this is for you. The three always find a way to include a little bit of their own style into their group music, and always manage to make heartbreakingly beautiful songs when their song writing blends together.
