Every Boygenius song ranked in order of greatness
In terms of immediate impact, few bands have hit as hard as Boygenius has. Granted, that’s probably because of the built-in fandom that the supergroup had when they first formed in 2018. Three of the biggest female figures working in indie rock – Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus – brought their talents together for what seemed like a one-off. Instead, the band grew into something much bigger.
When the trio put out their self-titled six-song debut EP in 2018, it was just as all three members (and Bridgers especially) were beginning to poke into the mainstream. Any real progress as a band was brought to a brief halt while the trio worked on their solo material, but their continued collaborations kept the status of Boygenius alive. But when their appearance at Woodstock 50 fell through and the Covid-19 pandemic hit, it seemed possible that the members wouldn’t revive the project.
Instead, a masterful debut album, The Record, elevated them into one of the most popular indie rock bands in the world. Without leaning on their solo material, Boygenius stormed stages around America intent on showing their prowess as a real band. A full rock show filled with recognisable songs proved that Boygenius were more than just a vanity project – they were a force to be reckoned with.
For this list, we’re only including songs that have been officially released under the “Boygenius” moniker. That means that songs like Hayley Williams’ ‘Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris’ or Phoebe Bridgers’ ‘I Know The End’ are not being featured. Also excluded are the three songs that appeared on the Boygenius (Demo) EP since those three songs were recorded and released on the band’s self-titled EP. It’s pure Boygenius or bust.
Every Boygenius song from worst to best:
18. ‘Without You Without Them’
Right off the bat, ‘Without You Without Them’ isn’t a bad song. The thing is that it’s not really a song: it’s an introduction, or an interlude, or a wave hello, if you’re so inclined. That’s how Boygenius use it in the live setting, harmonising around a single microphone backstage before starting the show proper. It’s also how it’s utilised on The Record: a thematic way to kick off the proceedings, but nothing more outside of that.
17. ‘Revolution 0’
A perfectly fine addition to The Record from Phoebe Bridgers, ‘Revolution 0’ suffers from being on an album full of fantastic material. Smack band in the middle of the LP is a song about an imaginary friend with a vaguely Beatles-esque title that comes and goes without making much of an impression.
‘Revolution 0’ sounds like what an AI might come up with when asked to write a Phoebe Bridgers song, which still makes it pretty good, but nothing truly revolutionary.
16. ‘Cool About It’
With just an acoustic guitar between them, Boygenius craft their most meme-worthy track with ‘Cool About It’. Not to say a line like “Once I took your medication to know what it’s like” isn’t impactful, but it’s also kind of hilarious and on-the-nose too.
Pair that with a fairly obvious swipe from Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘The Boxer’ and you get a song that doesn’t quite bring all of its elements together in a cohesive fashion.
15. ‘Anti-Curse’
Featuring an intro guitar strum that is almost note-for-note Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Since U Been Gone’, ‘Anti-Curse’ threatens to spin out of control before it even starts. Thankfully, Baker brings things back with a beach day that makes summer fun sound like a trip through hell.
Not quite as weighty as most of the material on The Record, ‘Anti-Curse’ is nonetheless a solid addition to an album that doesn’t sink or swim with or without it.
14. ‘Leonard Cohen’
Hilarious and cutting at the same time, ‘Leonard Cohen’ isn’t actually about the eponymous singer-songwriter. Dacus does get a solid swipe at Cohen’s status as “an old man having an existential crisis at a Buddhist monastery writing horny poetry”, but the real subject of the song is the idiot partner who tries too hard to relate while adding an hour to the road trip.
Blunt and to the point, ‘Leonard Cohen’ comes and goes before it even gets a chance to really hit home, but that just means it’s easier to return to again and again.
13. ‘Ketchum, ID’
The looseness and open-ended nature of ‘Ketchum, ID’ is a double-edged sword. If you so choose, the themes of escape and starting a new life in the titular city can ring through loud and clear. By the same token, the song’s lyrics seem to go in circles, confirming that these dreams aren’t actually realistic.
With a ballad-like folk arrangement, ‘Ketchum, ID’ can be devastating or filler depending on your mood, but when it hits, it hits hard.
12. ‘Bite The Hand’
Simplicity is always preferred to overcomplicating things. Lucy Dacus knows this and keeps everything on ‘Bite The Hand’ paired down, including the arrangement, vocals, and lyrics. While that inherently puts a ceiling on how high ‘Bite The Hand’ can fly, it also ensures that the heartbroken message at the heart of the song comes through loud and clear.
11. ‘Souvenir’
$20 certainly has a strange resonance with Julien Baker. While that amount is just enough to get an escape car running on The Record, it’s a hail-mary to try and capture some dreams on the Boygenius track ‘Souvenir’.
Self-hatred would be a potent recurring theme throughout the band’s work, but it’s delicate enough to break on the low-key arrangement of ‘Souvenir’.
10. ‘Stay Down’
As devastating and antagonistic as Boygenius have ever been on record, ‘Stay Down’ also doubles as perhaps the most depressing and severe song in the band’s catalogue. All three members of the band tend to have their darker moments, but this is when Baker brings all of her demons to the fore.
That’s a lot, especially considering the next song on this list, but it’s handled with the same deft skill and remarkable insight that Baker brings to all of her material.
9. ‘Satanist’
If the delicate acoustic folk arrangements of Boygenius tend to get a bit repetitive for you, Julien Baker is the perfect antidote. Twice on The Record, she pulls out some fuzzy riff-heavy rock tracks that break up the relatively gentle pace of the album.
‘Satanist’ just happens to be the lesser of the two, but the offer that Baker puts up is almost impossible to resist. Just about anyone would sell their soul to be a part of this team.
8. ‘Letter to an Old Poet’
The final track from The Record is, for all intents and purposes, a sequel/continuation of ‘Me & My Dog’, borrowing thematic and sonic elements directly from that track. Bridgers makes that connection obvious when she gives a shout-out to her now-departed pet, emphasizing the bittersweet time that has passed between the two songs.
It’s a wonderful way to end the band’s first full-length LP, even if it stands in the shadow of a slightly better song.
7. ‘Emily I’m Sorry’
When The Record released its first three preview singles, one from each of the band’s singer-songwriters, this was the one that got the most attention. A naked ode to one of Bridgers’ more famous former flames, Bridgers lets it all hang out to an extreme extent, so much so that it’s almost difficult to wrap your head around without falling down a TMZ rabbit hole.
If you’re able to shut out all that noise, though, ‘Emily I’m Sorry’ is still a beautiful song filled with regret and longing.
6. ‘We’re In Love’
On the surface, ‘We’re In Love’ could easily be taken as an ode to a partner. But according to Dacus, the track is actually about the closeness and bond that the three women in Boygenius have forged with each other.
It still works if you’re looking for a romantic love song, but the fact that Dacus was able to perfectly translate the band’s dynamic in one song elevated ‘We’re In Love’ to something more impactful.
5. ‘Salt in the Wound’
Damn, if Lucy Dacus isn’t the most underrated member of this band. By crafting some of the most devastating songs that the band ever put their name on, Dacus is probably the most consistent contributor to Boygenius.
‘Salt in the Wound’ fits right in with the band’s themes but elevates beyond cliche. By channelling biblical allusions, Dacus soars above the confines of the earth and pushes just the right amount of painful truths through the lines of ‘Salt in the Wound’.
4. ‘Not Strong Enough’
Is it possible to have a god complex while being filled with self-doubt and self-hatred? If you ask Boygenius, the answer is yes. The only way to attack a nuanced feeling is to filter it through an equally nuanced song.
Even when you dissect it to its DNA, ‘Not Strong Enough’ still holds up as a damn catchy rock track. Whether it flies over your head or means way too much, ‘Not Strong Enough’ can serve both masters, something that the women in Boygenius excel at.
3. ‘True Blue’
Perhaps the most nuanced love song that any of the three members have ever written, ‘True Blue’ finds Lucy Dacus stepping to the front and asserting herself as an equal in terms of sheer songwriting talent.
Taking love for what it’s worth – namely, all the terribly lows that inevitably come with the highs – Dacus crafts an astonishingly real look at what it takes to actually share your life with another person. It’s not easy – it’s tough and tried if it’s really true blue.
2. ‘$20’
Springing to life with a killer ⅞ fuzz riff and a burnt-out tale of nostalgia, ‘$20’ is probably the most accessible and hard-hitting track that Boygenius has released yet.
Taking the reigns, Baker lays out her own version of ‘Born to Run’ with a cast of characters that include arsonists and a mom who knows better than her daughter’s desires. The ending rounds feature some signature screams from Bridgers, tying the masterpiece that is ‘$20’ together.
1. ‘Me & My Dog’
Ultimately, the best Boygenius song should be funny, bittersweet, insightful, and devastating all at the same time. Nothing in the band’s catalogue checks all of those boxes quite as well as ‘Me & My Dog’, the closing track from the band’s debut EP.
With Bridgers crafting some of her most iconic lyrical notions, ‘Me & My Dog’ continues to build until it explodes into the stratosphere. Perfectly paced and incredibly performed, ‘Me & My Dog’ is simply peak Boygenius.
