When boygenius (the group made up of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker) released their EP back in 2018, I assumed it was a fun off one project from friends who felt like collaborating. Much like The Bens (the group of Ben Folds, Ben Kweller, and Ben Lee), we'd never hear from the trio again and it would be a fun little footnote in their careers. But boygenius kept going, and this year they released the excellent the record.
And they got huge. They're at the level where it's cool to both love them and hate them. Their backlash now has backlash. We obviously love them, and with good reason. At no point do any of the songs on the record feel like a Phoebe Bridgers song, or a Lucy Dacus song, or a Julien Baker song. They've accomplished this feat where the entire album somehow sounds like all three of them, and something completely new. Plus, it's a wildly diverse album. "$20" is a full on indie rocker, "Emily I'm Sorry" is alt-pop leaning into being folky, and "Cool About It" is Simon & Garfunkel style folk.
boygenius is a supergroup that is clearly having fun being a group. And their fans are having the time of their lives being fans. The songs are beautiful, and fun. Even the sad ones. They're well worth the hype, and I'm hoping even as the members move on and forward in their solo careers, that they'll revisit this project every five years or so and blow all of our minds over and over again.
Songs of note: "$20," "Emily I'm Sorry," "Cool About It," "Not Strong Enough"
No comments:
Post a Comment