Genres can be a great tool for artists to market their music and for listeners to find more of what they love. Still, they are often restrictive, hindering an artist’s ability to express raw emotion and explore new sonic territory.

So why settle for a band with one sound when you can listen to a band that doesn’t hesitate to explore so many more? With Boys Go To Jupiter, dear reader, each track and project transcends genre and emotional stagnation with theatrical panache.

The band formed in 2022, when lead singer Jess Kantorowitz and guitarist Luke Volkert met on Hinge and decided to just be friends, before enlisting pianist Caleb Martin-Rosenthal.

After releasing a slew of singles and building a small, diehard fanbase over nearly two years, Boys Go To Jupiter released their debut album, “Meet Me After Practice.” Alongside it came a short film of the same name, which contextualizes the album as a pensive story about getting older and drifting apart from childhood friends. 

The album opens with “practice” and is bookended by “Theme Song,” which shares the same motif to create a full-circle movement, especially when the album is looped. The band’s playful and campy nature is clear in the central lyrics “They say the boys went to Jupiter / To drown out the noise of the universe,” asserting that “Meet Me After Practice” is “just the start” for the group.

Steeped in a 1960s pop ballad aura mixed with modern Broadway sensibilities, “Lovers Always Lose” is a nihilistic yet bubbly track about a doomed romance. The opening of the track features a lush string quartet and a modest guitar melody as Kantorowitz coos poetic lyrics before letting loose with a killer chorus: “If we’re lovers, then we’re screwed / Oh, ’cause lovers always lose.”

A masterclass in building musical tension, the track “wish u were here” starts gently with, “There’s a place in my pocket I thought you could stay,” accompanied only by gentle guitar strumming as the album’s genre shifts from pop to grunge. But as soon as the second chorus hits, banging drums and a mind-staggering electric guitar take the track to another level. 

All hell breaks loose in the best way possible during the bridge and last chorus as Kantorowitz powerfully, yet skillfully, sings, “Checking up more than I’d care to admit to / Checking my words / Read and reread / Slowly convincing myself I’m the issue.”

A drastically different sound, yet still just as inspired as the previous tracks, Boys Go To Jupiter dishes out a healthy serving of funk and soul on “Wall St.” With a stunning horn section and groovy bass line, the track captures the giddy excitement of new love: “And I wanna be the first one to / Uncover your thoughts when you’re asleep.”

Easily the band’s most theatrical song to date, sounding like it was ripped right off of a Broadway stage, “Virginia” is a return to ballads but embraces the disco genre rather than pop. The song follows an actress named Virginia who leaves her family and hometown behind for money, fame and glory. Once the band picks up the tempo, it’s hard not to get swept up in the melodious violins, reverent horns and near-perfect production.

Following “Meet Me After Practice,” Boys Go To Jupiter released “Now You’re A Circle” in March, also accompanied by a short film. Proudly introducing listeners not only to the EP, but to the band’s melodramatic sound, “Sunshine (never trust anyone named jeanette)” effortlessly flows between a peppy, charismatic indie pop vibe and a sweeping orchestral sound. 

The palpable tension built in the moments between verses and in the pre-chorus gives way to a stunning chorus where Kantorowitz sings the lines “‘Are you free this Sunday? / Please say that you are’” with magnetic personality.

“Wake Up Layla,” a phenomenally contradictory track, features jittery instrumentals battling languid and flowing vocals, creating a unique balance of dreaminess and excitability. Elegant support from a string quartet and guitar riffs is consistently mesmerizing, allowing Kantorowitz to keep the spotlight as her voice gracefully floats above the instruments.

The standout on the project, “Do It Over,” opens with a groovy bass line that sparkles and moves listeners. The prize of the track is its sweet and divine chorus, painfully marked by relatable desperation and pining in the lyrics “I’m willing to forget it / If you wanna do it over.” Kantorowitz also has two vocal tracks stacked over each other to create a unique echo and celestial sound quality.

“Revenge Tour” is an exquisite balance of Boys Go To Jupiter’s orchestral-leaning sound with the pop-rock rowdiness found in earlier tracks. The genre-blending piece is witty yet brutal with lines like “Okay, she looks like me / I guess to you it feels the same” and “You’re not fooling anybody / I’m praying for the girl you’re screwing.” 

While their current releases keep my heart full and ears well-fed, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the excitement and hopeful anticipation I have for studio recording versions of “Sunglasses” and “Just So You Know,” which were released as live versions from Audiotree and Seawall Sessions, respectively.

Both tracks have great gusto and sound stunning acoustically, but Boys Go To Jupiter always adds something magical to their studio releases. Whatever is next for the band is sure to be a treat.

Aden Max Juarez is a sophomore writing about non-mainstream music in his column, “Underground Earworms,” which ran every other Thursday. He is also an Arts and Entertainment editor at the Daily Trojan.