The genius of boygenius
An introduction and review of The Record. What happens when you combine poetry, madness, a trifecta of a brotherhood, and a lot of acoustics? You get the critically acclaimed 2018 indie-rock supergroup boygenius.
If you are chronically online, or simply just into indie music and contemporary rock, you definitely have heard of them. But otherwise, let us tell you about the indie rock’s hottest band, and their hit album, The Record.
The geniuses of boygenius
Not to be confused with a tortured male artist whose very existence is pretentious—the boy genius trope. This boygenius is the accidental all-queer band consisting of singer-songwriters Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker. The three artists, continuously tagged as women in rock, found solace in their friendship and shared frustration.
Each of them have somewhat already established their name in the indie music scene when they met as up-and-coming artists. Bridgers by the time, had already released Stranger in the Alps, Dacus with Historian, and Baker’s Turn Out the Lights. After co-headlining their very own tour in 2018, they got into a recording studio overwhelmed and birthed their self-titled EP.
Boygenius, the six-track EP, received critical acclaim, regarded as an emotionally-scorching fusion of individual artists. A tease of their potential and of their united vocal and poetic prowess. Only five years after did the supergroup follow through and decide to grace their fans with new music to cry to, their debut album, “the record.”
In the intervening years, the geniuses had worked separately and in collaboration. In 2020, Bridgers released her Grammy-nominated album “Punisher”. While in 20221, Dacus and Baker simultaneously made their own groundbreaking records, “Home Video” and “Little Oblivious” respectively. They all appeared in each other’s records and accompanying tours either as backing vocals or inspirations.
The record
In March of 2023, boygenius released “the record”. A 42-minute experience of the band’s sentiment to each other’s friendship and commitment, accompanied by their layered vocals, drums, and either intimate or inoffensively loud guitars. It perfectly married Bridgers’ intimate sound, Dacus’ confrontational storytelling, and Baker’s edgier style, into a singular emotional and proud end-product. It is both uncomplicated and spiritual, an oath and a curse, confessional and expository.
The opening track Without You Without Them does more than showcase the established prowess of the band’s harmonious voices. It tells a story of introduction to the album and a human bond—a mortifying ordeal of being known.
In this same sense, the lyrics “Speak to me until your history’s no mystery to me” and “I can’t hide from you like I hide from myself,” circle back to the core of the record. A symbol of their promise to each other—much like their doodled tooth friendship wrist tattoos featured in the album artwork.
At large, the album is reminiscent of the 90s to early 2000s rock with a tinge of folk music. Tracks like Not Strong Enough and Satanist go to one edge of the spectrum which sounds heavy and edgy. While other songs like the Dacus-led Leonard Cohen and We’re in Love are on the other end which is warmer and more mellow than the rest.
Like a topping to their exquisite album, boygenius sprinkled a handful of genius references in their lyrics and song titles. From The Beatles, Joan Didion, Iron & Wine, Virginia Wolf, and The Cure, to even a passage from Ecclesiastes. Most remarkably, they made a callback to pop titan Taylor Swift’s 1989 track This Love in their lyric “I could go on and on and on and I will.”
As a closing track, the Bridgers-led Letter to an Old Poet stands out as it references an earlier track by the band released on their EP, Me and My Dog. As a nod to Rainer Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet the track seemingly continues, if not closes, the narrative. It expounds on Bridgers’ growth and realizations in the five-year gap of their projects. The song serves as a closing to the record, as it is Phoebe’s goodbye to a toxic and dying relationship.
The boys’ genius future
As if critical acclaim and good reception from the public are not enough. Boygenius and “the record” are also the rumored dark horse of next year’s Grammy Awards. Not that awards are important indicators of good music, as it is systemic and political, but the context is important. As indie artists, Bridgers, Dacus, and Baker are generally not favored in these award shows, much more, in the Grammys. If predictions are correct, this is a big achievement and a proud moment for the more than deserving boys.
After playing at the recent Coachella, and opening for Taylor Swift, awards or not, the future of these geniuses is clear; success, acclaim, and an even stronger friendship. And we, as their listeners, are more than lucky to be living in their universe. Much like what Dacus sang in track eight of the record, “I never thought you’d happen to me.”
