Once again, the boygenius returns! The trio of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus released their self-titled six-song EP in 2018, and it was absolutely decisive. Since then, the three members of the group have come together to back up songs by Hayley Williams and Bridgers. And now all three sing on “Favor”, the last single from Baker’s long-awaited next album Small forgetfulness.
Small forgetfulness it is the first album that Julien Baker records with a full band, and we have already posted the first singles “Faith Healer” and “Hardline”. Like those other songs, “Favor” is sad, tender and cinematic. Unlike these other songs, “Favor” has Baker singing again in harmony with Bridgers and Dacus. They sound impressive together. In “Favor,” Baker sings, “I used to think of myself as a talented liar / It turns out that all my friends were trying to do me a favor.” Her friends sing behind her. Those rules.
In a press release, Dacus says:
We sang “Favor” in Nashville the same day we recorded the vocals for [Bridgers’] “Graceland Too” and a song of mine. That day had the same atmosphere as when we recorded the EP boygenius. Making music was just the natural result of being together, easy as it can be, but also rare in a way that seems unreplicable. I love music for its clear but sensitive image of friendship, as it is to recover from a broken trust. It makes me wonder how the truth always breaks what should be broken, and how love is never one of those things. I am always honored to be included in Julien’s life and music.
Listen to “Favor” below.
Small forgetfulness is 2/26 off Matador. Now I can’t wait to hear that Lucy Dacus song.