boygenius ‘the record’ (album review)

“Supergroup” feels like one of the most loaded terms in music. It’s a statement of fact, but one which carries a potent subtext of inevitable creative differences and clashing egos, underwhelming output and bitter recriminations – in a word, disharmony. But boygenius, the collaboration between Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, is the very definition of harmony and respect, a united front against the concept of “women with guitars” as a genre. 

the record is beautifully written from every angle, its lyrics carrying an honest poetry which has Bridgers admitting “I’m 27 and I don’t know who I am” on the gorgeously yearning ‘Emily I’m Sorry’ before Dacus intones seconds later on ‘True Blue’ that “it feels good to be known so well”. Track listing becomes an artform as boygenius arrange the album’s 12 songs with beguiling simplicity into the only order that could possibly make sense, lyrical themes blossoming and blooming while the instrumentation moves from the squalling fuzz of ‘$20’ to the gentle caress of ‘We’re In Love’.

 

The range on display is mesmerising, disparate threads woven together into an intricate tapestry which reveals more details the more attention you pay – perhaps it took a couple of goes to realise that yes, the lyrics to ‘Leonard Cohen’ really do include the line “I am not an old man having an existential crisis at a Buddhist monastery writing horny poetry”.

 

‘Not Strong Enough’ is euphoric as it soars on vocal harmonies and builds to a dizzying climax with a refrain of “always an angel never a god” and ‘Satanist’ tingles with just a hint of grunge, while ‘Cool About It’ is bare bones folk, tipping its head knowingly to Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘The Boxer’.

 

Anyone caught up in the slipstream of these three talented singer-songwriters will feel immediately at home here, buttogether boygenius are more than the sum of their parts. the record deserves to be judged on its own merits, almost too many to count, which place it comfortably in the 10 best albums released this year – and yes, it’s only April.

Words - Joe Ponting

boygenius official