Boyfriend declares her persona’s mission on the first song of her new album, “Soulmate.” She’s embodied a manifesto for over ten years but hasn’t released a proper album until Sugar and Spice. She’s your boyfriend. Listen to the sound of the patriarchy falling and pussy ascending to its rightful pedestal.
Alongside local talent like Big Freedia, Boyfriend has appeared all over the music industry as an underrated gem. From a song on the Space Jam 2021 soundtrack to credits in music by Charli XCX, Galactic and Pom Pom Squad, Boyfriend’s only goal in the industry is furthering feminist art. And that also rings true in her new LP with clever, heady lyrics that never kill the party vibe.
If wordplay is her biggest strength, then her big-picture vision of each track is a close second. She edges on overwhelming wordiness, overly simple beats and out-of-reach flows but never lets one element get far enough to ruin a track. She keeps it playful, especially on songs like “Pegasus,” which is a pegging song in all but the word “peg” that quite literally sticks it to the man. She knows when to flex her rapping abilities, like on the last few bars of “Re: Future.” Each beat has a bit of glitz or glitch, contrasting the lyrical moment like the breakdown on “Dead Yet” or the blissful synths on “Pegasus.”
The album also features some tasteful covers that brilliantly fit Boyfriend’s style, like No Doubt’s “Just A Girl” and Le Tigre’s “Deceptacon.” Boyfriend takes the overtly feminist message of these songs and makes them her own with scuzzy electronic beats and elevated vocals.
Occasionally, the album falls into generic pop pitfalls like on “Lie In It” or “Blind Eye.” Both feel like cuts from whatever was on Top 40 radio in 2012 with basic song structure and repetitive earworm choruses. The lacking substance is fine for dancier club songs like these, but Boyfriend’s charisma and energy bear the burden of these tracks.
It’s an unconventional debut album for an unconventional artist that knows how to party while still keeping her political bite like dance punkers of old and modern queer pop phenoms. You’ll love this album if you find yourself at the crossroads of Cibo Matto and Azalia Banks.
