boygenius — the record (deluxe reissue)

The reissue industry rarely improves on the thing it's revisiting. This one does the next-best thing: it clarifies.

Three years after their first full-length and a nine-month arena run, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus have returned to the record and sanded it down. The deluxe reissue includes the original twelve tracks, now remastered by Emily Lazar, plus a bonus disc of acoustic demos, one previously orphaned co-write, and three outtakes.

What's new

The three outtakes — "Harbor Light," "Fast Food Jesus," and "Minnesota" — are not throwaways. "Harbor Light" is a Dacus-led ballad about missing a flight home for a funeral that would have been a highlight on the record had it fit the sequencing. "Fast Food Jesus" is a Baker-driven acoustic sketch, less song than inhabited mood, with Bridgers' harmonies playing the role of her usual lead. "Minnesota" is the oddity: a six-minute co-write that reads like three different songs stitched together, which is probably why it didn't make the cut, but it's fascinating to hear what they tried.

The acoustic set

The acoustic demos are revelatory in the way these things sometimes are. "Not Strong Enough" without the drum fill and the choir is a different song — slower, meaner, more Baker than Bridgers. "True Blue" strips back to just Dacus and a nylon-string guitar and the result is close to Nick Drake. If you've worn through the record, this disc is a reason to come back.

The remaster

Lazar's remaster brings up the low end and sharpens the backing vocals, which were sometimes buried in the original mix. On "Letter to an Old Poet" the restraint of the arrangement comes through now in a way it didn't on headphones. On "Not Strong Enough" the chorus hits harder because the verses have breathing room they used to lack. It's a careful job rather than a reinvention, which is correct.

The small complaint

The outtakes are presented in the sequence they were recorded, which means the album goes out on "Minnesota," the strangest of the three. A tighter curator would have ended on "Harbor Light," the most emotionally resolved of the new material. It's a minor thing but it affects how you leave the listen.

Verdict

If you don't already love the record, this reissue won't convince you. If you do, the acoustic disc alone is reason enough to buy it again. The outtakes are a bonus. The remaster is a quiet upgrade. 8.4.