The beloved indie-rock supergroup, boygenius, recently dropped “the record.” The long-anticipated album delivered painstakingly lovely harmonies and intimate lyricism.

After releasing four singles that gave fans a tiny glimpse into the album’s sound, boygenius delivered its debut album on March 31. Long-standing fans were gutted, celebratory memes were made and oceans of tears (both remorseful and furious) were shed. 

On my first listen to the 42-minute album, the careful, dedicated intention in every detail of “the record” quickly became evident. Even the easy-flowing transitions between songs made the album feel more like a fluid, intertwined story than a collection of singles. 

My personal favorites from “the record” include “Letter To An Old Poet,” “Revolution 0,” “Not Strong Enough” and “Cool About It.”

Upon listening to “Letter To An Old Poet” for the first time, I took immediate notice to the lyrics “I wanna be happy, I’m ready to walk into my room without looking for you / I’ll go up to the top of our building / And remember my dog when I see the full moon.”

The relevance of these lyrics can be understood after listening to the following lyrics from “Me & My Dog” that read, “I wanna be emaciated / I wanna hear one song without thinking of you / I wish I was on a spaceship / Just me and my dog and an impossible view.”

I feel that “Letter to An Old Poet” is an ingenious foil of “Me & My Dog” from the group’s self-titled EP. 

The potent lyricism in “Letter To An Old Poet” alludes to moving on from the harmful relationship Phoebe Bridgers describes in “Me & My Dog” in a way that brings listeners a sense of sorrowful peace.

But Bridgers doesn’t lose the biting edge “Me & My Dog” packs in “Letter To An Old Poet.”

The gently indignant lyrics, “You’re not special, you’re evil / You don’t get to tell me to calm down,” display her acknowledgment of the trauma and manipulation she faced and promise no chance of meekness. 

As an obsessive listener of boygenius’ self-titled EP, and now, “the record,” I feel that the new album is a wonderful representation of boygenius as a unified group, in which Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers’ devotion to each other is brought into a warm light.

I was far from disappointed by “the record,” and the influx of excitement that took place after the album release only increased the frenzy of joy I experienced during the release week.  

Shortly before “the record” was released, boygenius delighted fans by announcing “the tour.” The supergroup will be touring beginning April 12, and the shows will feature guests Carly Rae Jepsen, Broken Social Scene, Bartees Strange, Claud and Illuminati Hotties. 

As mentioned in my pre-coverage of “the record,” boygenius will also be headlining the Re:SET concert series alongside Steve Lacy, LCD Soundsystem, Clairo, Dijon and Bartees Strange. 

And for fans in Europe, boygenius will have shows in London and Halifax with special guests 

MUNA and Ethel Cain, plus “more to be announced.” 

Boygenius further pleased its adoring fans by announcing the release of “the film” on March 30. 

Directed by Kirsten Stewart, this 14-minute short film contains three interlinked music videos for Baker-led “$20,” Bridgers-led “Emily I’m Sorry” and Dacus-led “True Blue.”

In my boygenius-loving opinion, “the film” is nothing short of a warm, tear-jerking, heartening, cinematic masterpiece. I hope my children have to dissect it in an AP class someday. 

To stream or download “the record,” check out boygenius’ website. To watch “the film,” visit the videos page on its website. For more information about the tour, visit the tour page on its website. 

O’Brien can be reached at [email protected].