The Record (Boygenius album)
The Record | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 31, 2023 | |||
Studio | Shangri-La (Malibu)[1] | |||
Genre | Indie rock | |||
Length | 42:13 | |||
Label | Interscope | |||
Producer |
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Boygenius chronology | ||||
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Julien Baker chronology | ||||
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Phoebe Bridgers chronology | ||||
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Lucy Dacus chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Record | ||||
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The Record is the debut studio album by American indie rock supergroup Boygenius, consisting of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. It was released on March 31, 2023, through Interscope Records.
The Record received critical acclaim, and was awarded perfect scores by the likes of DIY, NME and Rolling Stone.[2] It went on to top the charts in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, marking the first number-one album for all band members, and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200.
Background and release
After releasing their debut self-titled EP Boygenius in 2018, the trio had since been working on their solo projects and had all released their respective albums—Little Oblivions by Julien Baker, Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers, and Home Video by Lucy Dacus—before performing as a group for the first time in 3 years on November 19, 2021.[3] Rumours about a debut album from Boygenius began spreading in late 2022–2023, after the trio was spotted in a photoshoot together in November 2022 and after Boygenius was announced to be on the 2023 Coachella lineup on January 10, 2023.[4][5][6]
On January 18, 2023, Boygenius announced the album, along with the release of three lead singles, "$20", "Emily I'm Sorry", and "True Blue".[7][1] On March 1, 2023, Boygenius released the album's fourth single "Not Strong Enough", along with an accompanying music video edited by Bridgers' brother Jackson Bridgers.[8] The song was sent to adult album alternative and alternative radio in the United States on March 13 and March 28, 2023, respectively.[9][10]
The group will embark on two tours to support the album, the Re:SET Concert Series and The Tour.[11][12]
Composition
Kyle Lemmon of Flood Magazine stated that The Record "just plain rips as an indie-rock record".[13]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 90/100[2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Clash | 7/10[14] |
DIY | [15] |
Exclaim! | 8/10[16] |
The Line of Best Fit | 8/10[17] |
NME | [18] |
Mojo | [19] |
Pitchfork | 8.2/10[20] |
Rolling Stone | [21] |
Slant Magazine | [22] |
The Telegraph | [23] |
Upon release, The Record received acclaim from critics. Review aggregator Metacritic gave the album a weighted average score of 90/100, based on 23 critic reviews.[2] A five star review by NME raved that The Record was an "instant classic" as a result of each Boygenius member "getting to know each other artistically and collaboratively".[18] Rolling Stone wrote that Boygenius were able to "transcend any kind of 'supergroup' cliché" through "recombining their individual styles into a different kind of chemistry for each song".[21] Matthew Neale of Clash praised Lucy Dacus' contributions to the album in particular with tracks "True Blue" and "We're in Love".[14] John Amen of PopMatters wrote, "Democratically curated and effusing a palpable enthusiasm, [The Record] stands as a testimony to the power of aesthetic commonality, enduring friendship, and the magic of teamwork, something we could all use more of these days."[24]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Boygenius (Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus), except "Leonard Cohen", written by Boygenius, HoJun Yu and Leonard Cohen
No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Without You Without Them" |
| 1:21 |
2. | "$20" | Baker | 3:20 |
3. | "Emily I'm Sorry" | Bridgers | 3:34 |
4. | "True Blue" | Dacus | 4:56 |
5. | "Cool About It" |
| 3:00 |
6. | "Not Strong Enough" |
| 3:54 |
7. | "Revolution 0" | Bridgers | 4:17 |
8. | "Leonard Cohen" | Dacus | 1:42 |
9. | "Satanist" |
| 4:50 |
10. | "We're in Love" | Dacus | 4:54 |
11. | "Anti-Curse" | Baker | 3:18 |
12. | "Letter to an Old Poet" | Bridgers | 3:07 |
Total length: | 42:13 |
Notes
- Paul Simon is credited for inspiration on "Cool About It".
- "Leonard Cohen" contains portions of "Anthem" written and performed by Leonard Cohen.[25]
- "Letter to an Old Poet" contains interpolations of "Me & My Dog" written and performed by Boygenius.[26]
Personnel
- Boygenius – production, performance
- Catherine Marks – co-production, recording, performance
- Tony Berg – additional production
- Ethan Gruska – additional production, performance
- Melina Duterte – additional production, performance
- Sarah Tudzin – additional production, performance
- Kaushlesh "Garry" Purohit – engineering
- Bobby Mota – engineering
- Owen Lantz – engineering
- Will Maclellan – engineering
- Mike Mogis – mixing
- Pat Sullivan – mastering
- Carla Azar – performance
- Jacob Blizard – performance
- Anna Butterss – performance
- Barbara Gruska – performance
- Rob Moose – performance
- Sebastian Steinberg – performance
- Marshall Vore – performance
The Tour
Tour by Boygenius | |
Location | North America |
---|---|
Associated album | The Record |
Start date | April 13, 2023 |
End date | August 5, 2023 |
Legs | 1 |
No. of shows | 14 |
Boygenius concert chronology |
Beginning on April 13, 2023, The Tour will see Boygenius perform 14 shows in support of The Record. It was announced on March 28, 2023.[27]
Charts
Chart (2023) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] | 3 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[29] | 24 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30] | 6 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[31] | 43 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[32] | 11 |
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[33] | 39 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[34] | 1 |
French Albums (SNEP)[35] | 126 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[36] | 8 |
Irish Albums (OCC)[37] | 1 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[38] | 2 |
Scottish Albums (OCC)[39] | 1 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[40] | 40 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[41] | 36 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] | 22 |
UK Albums (OCC)[43] | 1 |
US Billboard 200[44] | 4 |
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[45] | 2 |
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[46] | 1 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[47] | 1 |
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[48] | 2 |
References
- ^ a b "boygenius Announce New Album 'The Record': Hear Three Songs". Stereogum. January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ a b c "the record by boygenius", Metacritic, retrieved March 27, 2023
- ^ Lavin, Will (January 21, 2021). "Watch Boygenius play first show in three years for San Francisco charity event". NME. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Cox, Lauren (January 9, 2023). "7 Of The Most Anticipated Albums Of 2023". Gigwise. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ O'Connor, Siobhain (January 10, 2023). "Signs are pointing to boygenius being back and doing… something". Dork. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Paul, Larisha; Mier, Tomás (January 10, 2023). "Bad Bunny and Blackpink Make History as 2023 Coachella Headliners, Frank Ocean Makes Grand Return". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Martoccio, Angie (January 18, 2023). "Boygenius Are Back in Town to Save 2023". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (March 1, 2023). "Boygenius Share Video for New Song "Not Strong Enough"". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
- ^ "Triple A Future Releases". All Access. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
- ^ "Alternative Future Releases". All Access. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
- ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (January 31, 2023). "Boygenius, LCD Soundsystem, and Steve Lacy to Headline New Re:Set Concert Series". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ Rowley, Glenn (March 28, 2023). "Boygenius Announces North American Headlining Tour in Support of 'The Record': See the Dates". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ Lemmon, Kyle (March 29, 2023). "boygenius, the record". Flood Magazine. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Neale, Matthew (March 29, 2023). "boygenius - the record | Reviews". Clash. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ Tipple, Ben (March 30, 2023). "boygenius - the record". DIY. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ Feibel, Adam (March 27, 2023). "boygenius Are Together for the Hell of It on 'the record'". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ Crudgington, Kate (March 27, 2023). "boygenius: the record review - the result of three artists working in perfect harmony". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ a b Campbell, Erica (March 27, 2023). "Boygenius - 'The Record' review: the instant classic we were hoping for". NME. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ Segal, Victoria (March 28, 2023). "Boygenius Reviewed!". Mojo. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ Zhang, Cat (March 31, 2023). "Boygenius: The Record". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (March 27, 2023). "The Debut Album From Boygenius Is Even Better Than Everyone Had Hoped". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ Lyons-Burt, Charles (March 27, 2023). "Boygenius 'The Record' Review: An Amorphous Musical Statement". Slant Magazine. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ McCormick, Neil (March 31, 2023). "Boygenius, The Record". The Telegraph. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ Amen, John (April 3, 2023). "Boygenius Celebrate Creative Chemistry on 'The Record'". PopMatters. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ Wilson, Carl (March 30, 2023). "The New Album From Rock's Greatest Supergroup Shows It Finding a Style All Its Own". Slate. The Slate Group. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ Wang, Steffanee (March 31, 2023). "About That "Me & My Dog" Sample on Boygenius' "Letter to an Old Poet"". Nylon. Bustle Digital Group. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ Richards, Will (March 28, 2023). "Boygenius share North American 2023 headline tour dates". NME. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Boygenius – The Record" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Boygenius – The Record" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Boygenius – The Record" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- ^ "Boygenius Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
- ^ "Hitlisten.NU – Album Top-40 Uge 14, 2023". Hitlisten. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Boygenius – The Record" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ "Top Albums (Week 14, 2023)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Boygenius – The Record" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
- ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ "Top 100 Albums Weekly". PROMUSICAE. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 14". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Boygenius – The Record". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (April 9, 2023). "Morgan Wallen's 'One Thing at a Time' Notches Fifth Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- ^ "Boygenius Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
- ^ "Boygenius Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
- ^ "Boygenius Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
- ^ "Boygenius Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2023.