The Rest (EP)

The Rest is the second extended play by American indie rock supergroup Boygenius, released through Interscope Records on October 13, 2023. A follow-up to the band's first full-length album The Record,^[4] individual songs were revealed one at a time while on tour,^[5][6] eventually performing the entire EP.^[7] The EP has received positive reviews from critics.

The Rest
EP by Boygenius
Released	October 13, 2023 (2023-10-13)
Recorded	May 2023[1]
Studio	Blackbird Studio, Nashville, Tennessee, US Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, California, US[2]
Genre	Indie folk
Length	12:04
Label	Interscope
Producer	Tony Berg boygenius Jake Finch Ethan Gruska Calvin Lauber Collin Pastore Marshall Vore
Boygenius chronology
The Record (2023) The Rest (2023)
Julien Baker chronology
The Record (2023) The Rest (2023)
Phoebe Bridgers chronology
The Record (2023) The Rest (2023)
Lucy Dacus chronology
The Record (2023) The Rest (2023)

That photo was taken during the same shoot for the original album art. We always liked the image, but when we chose these four songs to put out together, they all have this spacey, eerie quality about them. I think the wind being in our hair, the natural elements messing us up, it’s a little more unsettling and I feel like these songs—I don’t think they lack optimism, but they’re a little more focused on fear and unsteadiness.

—Lucy Dacus on the packaging and feel of The Rest^[3]

Reception

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, The Rest received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 from six critic scores.^[8] Editors at AllMusic rated this album 3.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine writing that "the EP feels a bit hushed when compared to the LP, a quietness that helps shift the focus to the individual singer/songwriters rather than the collective" and called this "a welcome coda to the relative exuberance of The Record".^[2] This album was shortlisted as notable for the week at BrooklynVegan, where Andrew Sacher opined that "this material is just as strong as the songs on the full-length".^[9] Alex Hudson of Exclaim! chose this as a Staff Pick stating that "as we near the end of 2023, it reasserts boygenius as one of the year's defining bands, and even more than the sum of their formidable parts".^[10] El Hunt of Evening Standard gave this EP 4 out of 5 stars, writing that "The Rest feels less cohesive than The Record, and rather than a love letter to accidentally stumbling on creative alchemy, Dacus, Baker and Bridgers all get their own moments in the spotlight" and called it "the perfect debut companion piece".^[11]

Alana Rae praised the storytelling in this album in her review for The New Zealand Herald, writing that "the four songs follow complex, often melancholic, relationships with others or, in some cases, themselves".^[12] Thomas Smith of NME gave The Rest 4 out of 5 stars, stating that "there’s material... that could have fought hard for space on their debut album".^[13] Olivia Horn, writing for Pitchfork Media, scored this album a 7.5 out of 10, stating that it is "aglow with the sense of triumph that has haloed the group’s recent history".^[1] In Spill Magazine, this was an editor's pick and critic Joseph Mastel rated it 4.5 out of 5, concluding "it might not reach the perfection of the record, but the rest is still a magnificent group of songs".^[14] Marc Abbott of Under the Radar rated this EP 6 out of 10, writing that while "there are moments of brilliance" here, but that it "comes across as sounding like that’s exactly what they deserve and need: a rest".^[15]

Editors at Spin chose this as the 21st best EP of 2023.^[16]

Track listing

All songs written by Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, except where noted

1. "Black Hole" – 2:21
2. "Afraid of Heights" – 2:41
3. "Voyager" (Baker, Bridgers, Dacus, Christian Lee Hutson, Conor Oberst, and Marshall Vore) – 2:48
4. "Powers" – 4:14

Personnel

Boygenius

• Julien Baker – instrumentation, vocals, lead vocals on first verse of "Black Hole" and all of "Powers", production
• Phoebe Bridgers – instrumentation, vocals, co-lead vocals on second verse of "Black Hole", lead vocals on all of "Voyager", production
• Lucy Dacus – instrumentation, vocals, co-lead vocals on second verse of "Black Hole", lead vocals on all of "Afraid of Heights", production

Additional personnel

• Ariel Baldwin – design
• Tony Berg – production
• Jake Finch – keyboards, strings, sound design, production
• Matt Grubb – cover photography^[5]
• Ethan Gruska – keyboards, sound design, vocal engineering, production
• Christian Lee Hutson – guitar
• Calvin Lauber – bass guitar, sound design, vocal engineering, production
• Will Maclellan – engineering
• Mike Mogis – mixing
• Collin Pastore – pedal steel guitar, sound design, engineering, production
• Lowell Reynolds – engineering
• Pat Sullivan – mastering
• Marshall Vore – drums, production
• Nathaniel Walcott – horn

Charts

Chart performance for The Rest

Chart (2023)	Peak position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17]	67
US Billboard 200[18]	50
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[19]	6
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[20]	4
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[21]	8

See also

• 2023 in American music
• List of 2023 albums

References

1. Horn, Olivia (October 13, 2023). "Boygenius: The Rest Album Review". Albums. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (n.d.). "Boygenius – The Rest". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
3. Levin, Harry (October 9, 2023). "The Sound Of Collision: Boygenius Discuss Creating 'The Rest,' Their Deepening Friendship & Identities". Interview. The Recording Academy. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
4. Osmon, Erin (October 10, 2023). "Boygenius rewrites the rules of rock stardom". Music. Los Angeles Times. ISSN 2165-1736. OCLC 3638237. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
5. Dailey, Hannah (September 26, 2023). "Boygenius Announces Surprise EP 'The Rest': Here's When It Arrives". Music News. Billboard. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
6. Madarang, Charisma (September 26, 2023). "Boygenius Promise 'The Rest' With Upcoming EP". Music > Music News. Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
7. Campbell, Erica (October 6, 2023). "boygenius bring The Rest to Madison Square Garden". Music > Features > Boygenius. Paste. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
8. "the rest by boygenius Reviews and Tracks – Metacritic". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
9. Sacher, Andrew (October 13, 2023). "Album Reviews: ††† (Crosses), Bad Bunny, boygenius, more". Notable Releases of the Week. BrooklynVegan. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
10. Hudson, Alex (October 13, 2023). "'the rest' Confirms boygenius as One of 2023's Defining Bands". Reviews. Exclaim!. ISSN 1207-6600. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
11. Hunt, El (October 12, 2023). "Boygenius ‒ The Rest EP review: the supergroup's offcuts make for shimmering companion piece". Culture > Music. Evening Standard. ISSN 2041-4404. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
12. Rae, Alana (October 27, 2023). "Review: boygenius follow-up EP brings story-telling to the fore". The Listener / Entertainment. The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
13. Smith, Thomas (October 12, 2023). "Boygenius – 'The Rest' EP: a magical coda to their mega year". Reviews > Album Reviews. NME. ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
14. Mastel, Joseph (October 13, 2023). "Boygenius – The Rest". Album Reviews. Spill Magazine. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
15. Abbott, Marc (October 20, 2023). "boygenius: the rest ep (Interscope) review". Reviews. Under the Radar. ISSN 1553-2305. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
16. Shipley, Al (December 19, 2023). "The Best EPs Of 2023". Lists >> Year-End Lists. Spin. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Boygenius – The Rest" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
18. "Boygenius Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
19. "Boygenius Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
20. "Boygenius Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
21. "Boygenius Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2023.

External links

• The Rest at Discogs (list of releases)
• The Rest at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
• Press release for The Rest
• "We Three Kings: boygenius On Their Breakout Year" at Stereogum