Buzzerfeed Reviews: The Record by Petgenius

     Surely everyone in the Underground has heard of them by now, but we would not be doing our due diligence as indie music reporters if we failed to cover petgenius before they break into the mainstream. We know that PhoebeBoridgers just opened for DraiklorQuick at the TNT Eras Party, but petgenius still squeaks by as an underground indie band for now, since they haven't headlined the Tyrannian Concert Hall....yet…

     Successful solo musicians in their own right, JuliennyBaker, PhoebeBoridgers, and LupeyDacus were Neofriends long before they were musical collaborators. Meeting by chance while waiting in line at Mr. Chipper’s ice cream cart after one of Julienny’s shows, all three were celebrating solo successes — Julienny and Phoebe with their debut albums Sprained Wing and Stranger in Terror Mountain, respectively, and Lupey’s universally praised second studio album Altadorian — launching the trio into indie-rock acclaim. Truly a right place, right time situation, the three fell into a fast and deep friendship, exchanging Neomails, swapping Booktastic book recommendations, and sharing their struggles and wisdom regarding their newfound place in the spotlight. Still, the three never planned to write music together.

     In Y20, they shocked the Neopian alt-music scene by coming out with a surprise EP under the moniker petgenius. With hits like “Space Spice in the Wound, “Me & My Warf,” and “Quasala, LD,” it was no surprise that the small but mighty petgenius fanbase quickly formed into a dedicated force. Something about the way they harmonized around feeling devastation too big to contain terrestrially and wishing instead to be “on the Virtupets Space Station, just me and my Warf and an impossible view” had us all reeling, grabbing onto any piece of furniture in our Neohomes to keep from keeling over. Ending the EP is the hauntingly poignant “Quasala, LD,” where they muse about “dissolving the band and moving to the Tyrannian Plateau,” or Quasala or any other desolate location promising a simpler life — lamenting about the isolation and constant longing for belonging that comes with a career dedicated to music that is both so specific and yet completely relatable. And as that track faded to a profound silence, so did they — gone to pursue individual projects and quieter lives and leaving fans to wonder if their paths would ever intersect again. Until now.

     Back with a vengeance, after five years of focusing on their solo careers, and only coyly hinting in interviews that petgenius was not squarely in the past, they dropped a full-length studio album, the record. The trio yet again stunned us all, producing nothing less than a masterpiece. Vocals range from solemn, hymn-like whispers to raging screams, leaving fans to ride the highs and lows. To call petgenius a “supergroup” might technically be accurate, but it doesn’t prepare you for the way this trio works together so effortlessly to create something far greater than the sum of their individual parts. The beauty of petgenius is that there is no frontPet, no star of the show; the album is split evenly between all three, and each plays off the other two. Julienny’s searching, softly punk vibe meets Phoebe’s haunting and winding melodic sound, meets Lupey’s soulful vocals and lyrical genius, bringing fans to emotional depths never before reached.

     The beauty of a musical collaboration between established independent musicians is that the record defies easy musical categorization. In “20NP,” we are introduced to Julienny’s signature frenetic guitar strumming, Phoebe screaming “I know you have 20NP!” at the top of her lungs, and a chaotic crescendo of layered vocals that immediately leads into the next track — the soft, tender “Emily_rocks32 I’m Sorry” led by Phoebe reminiscing about the highs and lows of a past bond (highly speculated to be about her personal relationship with Neovision actress Emily_r0x3232 in Y20). Perhaps the vulnerability in the line “Just take me back to Happy Valley, I’ll sell ice cream and you’ll go back to Neoschool, we can burn out in the Ice Caves and just get lost,” brings a layer of bittersweetness to petgenius’s origin story, prompting us to wonder what intentions PhoebeBoridgers had that fateful day when visiting the infamous ice cream cart.

     The incredibly deep bonds and love in Neofriendship might be one of the most central themes in the record. The lightness in “True Blue” feels almost shocking after the previous song brought us through the emotional wringer. We make it through the loneliness and come out on the other side, paw in paw with our best friends. Shocking fans by painting each other blue at the Rainbow Pool in the music video, the newly true blue trio is shown laughing together, bound by this shared experience and camaraderie. This song feels like a hug as the three croons, “And it feels good to be known like the wishing well, I can't hide from you like a premium user on Stealth!” They wouldn’t be petgenius if they left us on a high — “We’re in Love” explores the same depth of friendship, but leaves our hearts aching and yearning. Do the bonds of Neofriendship persist from account to account? Do they only exist in this lifetime? This is a question many of us have encountered over our years on Neopets, struggling with purged accounts and lost Neofriend lists. Lupey’s intensely vulnerable poeticism is almost haunting — “If you remake your account, may I still be a part? In the next one, will you adopt me? I’ll be the pet without a station, hungry from our farewell, in my Neopian pound cell, who asks for help. And if you do, I’ll know it’s you.” Fans may find themselves holding their Neofriends close for this one.

     As close as they hold their loved ones, the Pets also sing about letting them down or pushing them away with a rawness in their hearts and voices. In “Not Strong Enough (To Be Your Pet),” they are frozen by anxiety and inadequacy, crooning, “The way I am not strong enough to be your pet, I tried, I can’t stop staring at the iced ceiling fan,” tying their self-worths to a cheap and unwanted common Tarla item. Towards the end of the track, they chant in unison, “Always an Angelpuss, never a Kad,” almost mantra-like, as if they were attempting to convince themselves of this statement of inferiority. The conclusion of this song is left open-ended — certainly, there are days where we have all felt like a mere Angelpuss compared to a Kadoatie, but petgenius also reminds us that there is another kind of value intrinsic to being an Angelpuss over a Kadoatie that cannot be measured by traditional capitalist valuations.

     As an aside, we would be remiss if we failed to mention the recurring theme of anti-capitalism that ties many of the songs together. This sentiment can be best represented in the opening lines of “Xandraist,” as Julienny calls back to the frenzied guitar chords in “20NP” while singing, “Will you be a Xandraist with me, mortgage off your soul to buy your dream vacation Neohome in Faerieland?” These explicitly satirical capitalist critiques echo the more subtle references heard earlier in “20NP,” creating a nice full-circle moment for the listener.

     As the ultimate full-circle moment, the record concludes with a callback to the Virtupets Space Station references in “Me & My Warf” from the Y20 EP. “Neomails to an Old Poet” describes moving on from someone—possibly an evil scientist bent on Neopian domination—who has hurt you. Phoebe’s voice rings out clearly on this toned-down track, “You’re not special, you’re evil . . . when they trapped you in her token, it looked like it hurt, and I wasn’t sorry.” The pets have clearly experienced growth in the five years since their EP release, no longer clinging onto something, or someone, who they know will only cause them pain. The most painful lines on the record may be the final ones, “I wanna be happy, I’m ready to see Grundos without thinking of you. I’ll go up to the top of our Neohome, and remember my warf when I see Kreludor’s view.” The devastation we felt five years ago is back, but this time with a note of hope. The beauty in friendship shows us that we don’t need to spend time on evil scientists who don’t understand us — growing up in Neofriendship has made us wiser. Can we be happy? With our beloved Neofriends around us, I think we can.

     For casual and die-hard indie music fans out there, petgenius is currently on tour, perhaps for the last time, as an underground music group. Get tickets while you can* — after all, a Pawchella announcement surely is right around the corner…

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