Singer-songwriters Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus self-produced and recorded the EP over four days in June 2018 at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles.[3][4] The three made the decision to hire exclusively women for the process.[5] Each member of the group brought one mostly-finished song to the studio that received further input from the other two; Baker contributed "Stay Down", Bridgers contributed "Me & My Dog", and Dacus contributed "Bite the Hand". Three additional songs emerged during the recording process from the trio's own demos.[5][6]
Baker, Bridgers and Dacus formally announced the formation of Boygenius in August 2018. On the same day, three singles, "Bite The Hand", "Stay Down" and "Me & My Dog" were released, and their eponymous EP was scheduled for release on November 9.[7] On October 26, the EP was released digitally, two weeks ahead of schedule.[8]
Boygenius has received acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 13 reviews.[11] Rhian Daly of NME gave the EP a perfect score, stating "it serves as a reminder of each musician's particular powers – Bridgers' ability to spin haunting, poetic folk-pop out of beautiful simplicity; Dacus' sage and, often, wry indie-rock; and Baker's dramatic, emo-tinged exorcisms of emotion."[17]
In a review for Pitchfork, Dayna Evans rated the album 8.3/10, writing that each member of Boygenius performs in "distinct musical styles": "For Bridgers, an intimate voice and shy guitar with a folkier bedroom softness; Baker, enormous emo minor tones and a voice that could blow down a building; Dacus, vocals that are clear and confrontational and a guitar shrouded in fuzz. When performed together, it yields an effective kind of magic."[19]
